Ace has provided a vital public service: “Your Guide to Surviving The Progressive Imbeciles Who Have Spent a Week Cramming on How to Survive You.”
[Update a couple minutes later]
Bill Clinton (of all people) on ideological intolerance:
The candidate for First Man also said, “the polarization of American politics is present not just in Washington, but in American life.” Clinton didn’t call out any institutions in particular, but one wonders if he had the recent campus meltdowns in mind. American universities in some ways epitomize the trends Clinton has described: They pursue aggressive affirmative action, they are saturated with centers for race and gender and LGBT students, their brochures are shot through with paeans to diversity and tolerance—and yet they are now cementing their reputations as the most ideologically intolerant institutions in the country.
For good and ill, there is no reason to think that the trends Clinton described are abating. As we noted last week, millennials are more tolerant of different identities than older generations, but they are also most eager to censor offensive opinions.
This Turkey Day, be thankful that America is winning the war on racism and sexism. And ignore the torrent of articles telling you how to DESTROY your relatives for their incorrect opinions.
Yes.
[Update a while later]
Somewhat related: How not to discuss Star Wars with your crazy rebellion-supporting uncle.
You have to be careful in discussing Star Wars. It can result in death threats.
Some people take schlocky pseudo-SF too seriously.
Bring along a couple of textbooks on logic and/or economics. Just set them prominently on the dinner table. “Progressives” will react to those like Dracula to a crucifix. Shut ’em right up.
If the Thanksgiving table has become a battlefield for political ideas, it seems appropriate to deflect the conversation to simply ask everyone what they are grateful for. This should bring people back to the purpose of the holiday.
If a person cannot even understand the reason for the holiday, then it would be just fine to ask questions such as: are they not grateful that they aren’t in a land where other groups imprison them, torture them or throw them into slavery? Are they not grateful for their full bellies?
Hopefully the shame will be enough to get them to shut up. But since these types have no shame, they won’t realize it until several years later, when they showed everybody just what ungrateful little bastards they were.
Here in Wisconsin, the proper response is to immediately change the subject by asking, “How ’bout them Packers?”
They are playing tomorrow night, by the way.
Ace’s article is hysterical. I love the made-up statistics and quotes!
Not saying that the actors playing the Star Wars characters are getting old, but the subtitle “The Force Awakens” suggests it the staff had put it to bed immediately after the serving of the noon meal . . .
After actor Harrison Ford was laid up after breaking his leg in an accident while on the set, I think we now know what Imperial Walkers really are used for . . .
Funny, I thought it meant Episodes Eight and Nine would be “The Force Hits Snooze” and “The Force Shows Up Late For Work”.
I think most families try to avoid speaking about politics around these holidays. Fortunately, our betters are fixing that by building an environment similar to a slogan-spewing Maoist training camp, which is clearly a superior holiday experience.
Rather than annoy people with politics, I plan on getting people riled up about GOT ending before the last book comes out. Although, maybe GRRM will surprise us. Is Jon Snow dead or alive? In the words of Miracle Max, he may only be mostly dead as the season 6 posters suggest. Who puts a dead guy on a poster?
Wodun said;
“Who puts a dead guy on a poster?”
Democrat voter registration campaigns. The deceased are one of their core constituencies, after all. 🙂
I’m not too worried that political issues will pop up at my T-day dinner. It’s not that there aren’t lefties among my guests (there are) it’s that past experience shows they (regardless of political leaning) will be far more into criticizing the chef (me) than discussing anything else.
The reason is I do not make a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Why? Because I don’t like turkey – it always seems bland to me, even deep fried or smoked. So, last year, I smoked ribs for T-day. This year, I’m doing sausage/garlic stuffed roast marinated pork (an adapted French recipe). The side dish is sag spinach (an Indian dish).
I also loathe pumpkin pie (and pumpkin anything) so I’m not making that, either. I’m serving store bought cheesecake (I’m an awful chef when it comes to deserts).
So, basically, the guests always tend to bicker about my utter rejection of tradition and my cooking than politics. 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
OMG sounds delicious!
Pumpkin is a VEGATABLE, people! A VEGETABLE!
No pies!
I always found it ironic that a time long ago in a galaxy far far away (a phrase borrowed directly from the Department Of Redundancy Department) yielded a civilization with such highly advanced technology yet still retaining a sociological-political system based on the feudal system! Planets run by Kings and Queens? Jedi *Knights*? Sith Lords? Holy Roman Empire Batman! Is that anyway to run a galaxy? I remember having a pointed conversation on this topic at around the time the sequel to the first episode appeared with a good friend at work. We both had a good chuckle. The “Lucas Universe(tm)” totters on the edge of destruction for the very reasons A.C. Clarke suggests we have little to fear from hostile aliens. Because in the long stretch of cosmological time they would have killed themselves off long before they ever could get to us. I think the truth lies elsewhere. Sentience passes beyond what we can recognize. That’s what’s at the heart of the Fermi paradox. Something to reflect upon and be thankful for this Thanksgiving….
Perhaps others will find useful my generic response when faced with a recommendation that I read some godawful book, magazine article or web post or watch some drivelous movie or TV show. I simply reply in an upbeat tone, “Well, I certainly won’t fail to miss that!”
My mother in law brought a copy of Jonah Goldberg’s Liberal Fascism to the dinner table for last night’s Thanksgiving meal. Really! It was a fun evening, and I guess you could say that I was thankful for Transterrestrial Musings for providing me with the necessary education and preparation.
Hope you learned something, Bob. But I doubt it. Members of cults are hard to reason with, especially members of this one:
https://grrrgraphics.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/shrine_of_the_statists1.jpg