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Thursday, November 12, 2015

Self-opacity

Malcolm-the-not-cynical-enough asks:
What are we lacking right now? Are women who get abortions lacking support systems and help, from pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike?

Or do we lack people who are willing to yell “Repent, for you have sinned!”
One of the main reasons we lack people willing to say, "Repent!" is precisely because of people like Malcolm, who can always be counted upon either to initiate the attack upon the lone voice calling for repentance, or to join in the attack once it is made by another, or, at "best", to shrug their shoulders and say, "Meh! You brought this on yourself" ... and then, they are mystified when they are subjected to the same dynamic.

People don't *like* to be told that they are wrong, that they are in the wrong, and they tend to throw fits when told so (and the moreso the more in the wrong they are). People like Malcolm, while agreeing in principle that generic "people" may be in the wrong, generally can't bring themselves to acknowledge that this specific person is in the wrong when it doesn't directly impinge upon them. And they never quite figure out the reason that (nearly) everyone else reacts in the same way when it does impinge upon them.

Malcolm goes on to say:
If your answer is the same as mine you understand why I’m much more concerned with calling spades murderers rather than victims.
But, that isn't true; he emphatically is not interested in calling spades spades.

9 comments:

B. Prokop said...

There may be hope for Europe yet. Winston Churchill lives!

It's well worth 14 minutes of your life to listen to the whole speech.

Ilíon said...

Yeah, I'd read about that recently -- a leftist actually trying to speak the truth about reality abd what we collectively face. Makes you wonder what froze over.

B. Prokop said...

I was outside last night and checked. The Moon has not fallen out of the sky!

Ilíon said...

At the same time, I think it's so typical of a leftist politician that he can't imagine how to point out the "small, brown foreigners" are acting from a monstrous ideology unless he first turns them into fascists.

B. Prokop said...

Politics aside, that was one amazing speech. Better than anything I've seen coming from this side of the pond in a long while. You're going to hate me for saying this, but we haven't had a consistently outstanding political orator since Bill Clinton. Sanders can be a good speaker, but he's a one-note samba. Listen to him once, and you've heard everything he's got to say. Oh, and that Governor Christie talk on drug addiction was damn good. Also, Justice Scalia is capable of hitting one out of the park every now and then, but who listens to Supreme Court justices?

Note, I am strictly critiquing style here, not substance.

K T Cat said...

Merry Christmas, Ilion!

Ilíon said...

And to you.

I presume Sandy Claws stopped by your place, what with all the paw-ple who live there there.

B. Prokop said...

Had a wonderful Christmas this year! (Grandchildren make all the difference.) I hope yours was as good as mine!

Now... buckle up for Election Year! (I am so glad I do not have a TV.)

Ilíon said...

Yes, grandchildren would make all the difference; I'm glad your holy-day was good.

I had a good time doing nothing ... well, I spent most of the day playing a computer game.

The garage/apartment I was building this summer is finally enclosed from the weather. I don't want to spend the money just yet for garage doors, so I temp framed-in the two openings and closed them plywood; today I finished installing a latches and locks on one of the sheets so it can be used as a temp door if I want to bring new materials into the building.

I don't have a TV, either. I pretty much gave TV up when I left for college in '75; and even if I hadn't, I'd certainly give it up during election season. My hotel room (when I live during the work-week) has a TV, but I rarely turn it on -- weeks and even months go by that I don't turn it on.