4 ms·

I've heard this argument a few times lately, though this is the first time I've heard it from someone claiming to be a liberal. My question is this: What bene

I've heard this argument a few times lately, though this is the first time I've heard it from someone claiming to be a liberal. My question is this: What benefit is there to being tolerant of racists? It's not that we don't allow them on campus, it's that we don't allow them to spew their hatred and the things they think are facts, but are just racism. I understand that diversity can bring different ways of looking at things, but how does someone who thinks that non-white people are inherently inferior add anything to the conversation, even if we manage to keep them from being hateful while they're on campus? Assuming someone does manage to find a way that they are useful in a way that liberals are not, how do we justify letting them practice their hatred in return for that usefulness?

bokeck 10y ago
conservative != racist There may be a small (albeit publicly visible) portion of people who identity as conservatives and also "think that non-white people are inherently inferior." But that in no way represents any kind of majority of conservatives. It's like calling all people of middle-eastern origin "terrorists." Sure, a small minority of people from that region (and all regions!) are terrorists, but it's offensive and stereotypical to generalize that to include all people of middle-eastern descent. Same goes for calling all conservatives "racists." To directly equate all conservatives with being racists is simply wrong and unproductive. Let's keep the conversation constructive, here.
- wccrawford 10y ago
  While I have no doubt that that's true for many republicans, Just the fact that Trump has gotten the popular vote for this election says to me that prejudice is a defining trait for most republicans, whereas the fight against that basically defines the democrat side of this election. But let's say that we are indeed talking about conservatives who aren't hateful towards anywhere. That they're basically liberals, except for their beliefs about government involvement. Sure, people deciding not to hire based purely on party affiliation is wrong, just like any other immaterial criteria. But that alone wouldn't explain the huge difference in employment rates. The talk of liberal intolerance is actually directed at them not accepting racists and their ilk in their midst. When someone goes to a college and preaches racism, the liberal students riot and get them shut down, and then people talk about how intolerant the liberals were. They weren't shouting down a theory of government involvement or some economic theory, they were shouting down racism. Articles like this try to put a pretty spin on things, but they're just covering up their real agenda. The author, as a liberal, appears to believe them. He's fallen for their attempt to spin the facts into a conspiracy against them. It's not. it's the natural consequence of their intolerance. If fewer conservatives were racist and misogynistic, they wouldn't have such a hard time getting employed in educational institutions, or giving talks at them.
GnwbZHiU 10y ago
The problem, I think, is that "racist", "bigot", etc are too quick to be used to silent the oppositions just because they have different views and often people are being labelled "racist" without proper evidences.

bokeck 10y ago

conservative != racist There may be a small (albeit publicly visible) portion of people who identity as conservatives and also "think that non-white people are inherently inferior." But that in no way represents any kind of majority of conservatives. It's like calling all people of middle-eastern origin "terrorists." Sure, a small minority of people from that region (and all regions!) are terrorists, but it's offensive and stereotypical to generalize that to include all people of middle-eastern descent. Same goes for calling all conservatives "racists." To directly equate all conservatives with being racists is simply wrong and unproductive. Let's keep the conversation constructive, here.

wccrawford 10y ago
While I have no doubt that that's true for many republicans, Just the fact that Trump has gotten the popular vote for this election says to me that prejudice is a defining trait for most republicans, whereas the fight against that basically defines the democrat side of this election. But let's say that we are indeed talking about conservatives who aren't hateful towards anywhere. That they're basically liberals, except for their beliefs about government involvement. Sure, people deciding not to hire based purely on party affiliation is wrong, just like any other immaterial criteria. But that alone wouldn't explain the huge difference in employment rates. The talk of liberal intolerance is actually directed at them not accepting racists and their ilk in their midst. When someone goes to a college and preaches racism, the liberal students riot and get them shut down, and then people talk about how intolerant the liberals were. They weren't shouting down a theory of government involvement or some economic theory, they were shouting down racism. Articles like this try to put a pretty spin on things, but they're just covering up their real agenda. The author, as a liberal, appears to believe them. He's fallen for their attempt to spin the facts into a conspiracy against them. It's not. it's the natural consequence of their intolerance. If fewer conservatives were racist and misogynistic, they wouldn't have such a hard time getting employed in educational institutions, or giving talks at them.

GnwbZHiU 10y ago

The problem, I think, is that "racist", "bigot", etc are too quick to be used to silent the oppositions just because they have different views and often people are being labelled "racist" without proper evidences.