When the personal becomes political

[achtungbaby]

How much do you judge others by their political/social beliefs, if at all? Do you think we're more than our ideas?

[angelnympho]

aside from morals, somebody's social beliefs are one of the things i use to gauge whether or not i can get along with somebody. their political and social beliefs are pretty deep rooted... and they have a LOT to do with how the person acts... and what the person accepts as normal... so i think its an important factor in one's personality.
but if a person is open-minded and tolerant of other views, that's totally a plus and makes whatever his or her conflicting views may be matter that much less.

[ChinaLama]

well being a NYer, my first reaction to anyone who calls himself a Republican is "get away from me, evil one!" But i guess i don't judge people that much once I get to know them (although lately I've been taking political beliefs in a more hostile fashion--so I can't say that last statement really applies for me anymore). I'm definitely LESS tolerant of different views, especially ones I think could lead to or excuse racism or injustice than I am before.

[inkpainter]

...when i was younger my beliefs were more liberal as i entered into the "real world" and issues, politics, and others beliefs seemed to hit closer to home, it seemed to pull me farther to the right...but i don't thing people are all liberal (unless it's for political gain and money) or all right (unless for political gain or money) even bush has some liberal stances on some issues

[ChinaLama]

hehehhe welll opposite fr inkpainter, as i grow older, i go MORE to the left...must be too much exposure to those damn lefties in college. =D

[kasia]

it's sometimes difficult to separate the political from the personal.

this is most likely to be true when we're not simply discussing ideas but actually trying to make a decision on which ideas to implement.

many conservatives, for example, may believe that racial profiling is appropriate because there is an "imminent threat" of a future terrorist attack. they are worried for the safety of their family as well as society as a whole. however, what these people fail to recognize is that they are, rather conveniently, giving up the liberties of other people. it is no coincidence that most of the people favoring racial profiling are not arab-americans or south asians. racial profiling would place a tremendous burden on the daily lives of these people--and, racial profiling has not been proven to be a efficient technique. when the proponents of racial profiling are made aware of these disadvantages yet consciously disregard them--i.e., consciously disregard the injustice that they are placing on minority members--it is difficult not to view them as repulsive.

[achtungbaby]

[quote:699244ab67="ChinaLama"]well being a NYer, my first reaction to anyone who calls himself a Republican is "get away from me, evil one!"[/quote:699244ab67]

Do you still hate Rudy? :D

[achtungbaby]

[quote:c994172fb3="inkpainter"]...when i was younger my beliefs were more liberal as i entered into the "real world" and issues, politics, and others beliefs seemed to hit closer to home, it seemed to pull me farther to the right...[/quote:c994172fb3]

I think I've gone all over the political map and still have some very strange political opinions. The first time I noticed a *real* chunk of paycheck gone was the day part of me (my left foot) became Republican.

[achtungbaby]

[quote:82be73df7a="kasia"]
many conservatives, for example, may believe that racial profiling is appropriate because there is an "imminent threat" of a future terrorist attack. [/quote:82be73df7a]

Actually I think this is more of a white problem than a conservative one. While I haven't made up my mind on racial profiling yet ("random" not "racial"), I have observed that it's much easier to complain now than immediately post-9/11, when many of us were much more supportive. Why is that? Because the government's suddenly become evil & racist in its policies to deliberately cause us -- specifically non-whites -- to suffer, or is it because the government was always like this, and we just forgot in all the chaos...?

[quote:82be73df7a="kasia"]when the proponents of racial profiling are made aware of these disadvantages yet consciously disregard them--i.e., consciously disregard the injustice that they are placing on minority members--it is difficult not to view them as repulsive.[/quote:82be73df7a]

Perhaps they don't see it as an injustice...and here we go again with that perspectivism thang. I suppose I'll be doomed to swing back and forth between wanting an individual's own perspective to be recognized and respected, while at the same time, a desire for some common faith in an objective truth...

[ChinaLama]

yeah, you've shown by your words that you're a conservative postmod, AB. tough position :(

maybe you should take lithium. might make you a boring middle-of-the-roader. or vote for democrats. same difference. ;)

Rudy isn't a REAL republican...a REAL republican wouldn't get elected in the Northeast/northern part of mid-Atlantic. As in School Prayer/Pro-Life/you-name-it republican.

although i lean towards pro-life myself and one of my friends is becoming a pro-lifer b/c he (and I) think pro-choice arguments suck. (yeah leave it to him, a parliamentary debate team guy in Dartmouth, to lean away from pro-choice because of poor ARGUMENTS). BUT that's a whole other issue so PLEASE FEMINIST PEOPLE DON'T OPEN THIS CAN OF WORMS in this thread at least. I don't have much to say about it myself.

[achtungbaby]

[quote:c5d12c650a="ChinaLama"]maybe you should take lithium. might make you a boring middle-of-the-roader. or vote for democrats. same difference. ;)[/quote:c5d12c650a]

You silly Chinese boy. Lithium is for kids! :twisted:

[quote:c5d12c650a="ChinaLama"]although i lean towards pro-life myself and one of my friends is becoming a pro-lifer b/c he (and I) think pro-choice arguments suck.[/quote:c5d12c650a]

I'll toss my lot in with you, man from Nanking, and admit that I lean towards the pro-life camp. Of course, for me to preach righteously on this issue would be totally hypocritical (and thus, totally me??), what with all the illegitimate children I've spawned.

[ChinaLama]

man from Nanking? that's too north for me. :?

[achtungbaby]

Ohhh, whatever! Y'all look alike to me.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by achtungbaby@Aug 7 2002, 07:10 AM
Do you think we're more than our ideas?
i think it depends on how strongly we feel about our socio-political beliefs.



<!--EDIT|SunWuKung|Aug 7 2002, 07:52 AM-->

[AliBabaIncorporated]

i keep my political views outta sight :ph34r: ... i got a weblog if I wanna express those kinds of thoughts. i have friends all across the spectrum ... but I think it's a topic that's just divisive and for most people doesn't reflect your moral qualities as a person. so no one enjoys talking about it in person, because it puts distance between people - you realize others don't share your personal sense of justice, or even if they do, find different political expression for it.

we live in a world of guilt by association - believing in free markets and small government gets you accused of being a racist, a yellow uncle tom, a sellout, deluded, etc cuz of Dinesh D'Souza. believing in egalitarianism, Great Society, the government giving people a helping hand up, gets you accused of being a communist, an activist swindler, or an anti-religious nut cuz of Al Sharpton.

[achtungbaby]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Aug 6 2002, 11:51 PM
Originally posted by achtungbaby@Aug 7 2002, 07:10 AM
Do you think we're more than our ideas?
i think it depends on how strongly we feel about our socio-political beliefs.
But it is possible to be passionate about our beliefs without judging those who don't share them...?

[achtungbaby]

Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Aug 7 2002, 02:43 AM
i keep my political views outta sight :ph34r: ... i got a weblog if I wanna express those kinds of thoughts.

I checked your weblog out, very interesting, very informative. Thanks for linking YW!


Originally posted by AliBabaIncorporated@Aug 7 2002, 02:43 AM
we live in a world of guilt by association - believing in free markets and small government gets you accused of being a racist, a yellow uncle tom, a sellout, deluded, etc cuz of Dinesh D'Souza. believing in egalitarianism, Great Society, the government giving people a helping hand up, gets you accused of being a communist, an activist swindler, or an anti-religious nut cuz of Al Sharpton.

So where's the middle ground? Are people communists for wanting to boycott Abercrombie & Fitch? Are people homophobes for not agreeing with every tenet of a Gay Rights agenda?

[Craig]

*bump*