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I would agree, if we were just talking self-identified phone surveys or something. But we're talking about people saying their children shouldn't learn about th

by jeffool 14y ago

I would agree, if we were just talking self-identified phone surveys or something. But we're talking about people saying their children shouldn't learn about those things. I can't imagine purposefully making your children grow up thinking something is so wrong, you are an immoral person to consider it, unless they genuinely believed it as well. So to call it tactical stupidity is messed up on a scale I'm not prepared to level at such a large number of my fellow citizens (as an American), or anyone really. I'd rather think someone willfully ignorant than that willfully mean.

dredmorbius 14y ago
Tactical stupidity is knowing the truth but being unable or unwilling to admit it. In an extreme case, you might call wilful ignorance (including depriving yourself of information) to be an extension of this. Depriving others (particularly your own children) of factual information starts sliding into the "true belief" side, so far as I'm concerned. It may be messed up, but it's also fundamental human nature. As Heinlein observed: man not a rational animal, he's a rationalizing animal.