It’s always silly for the Democrats. I don’t have to read people opinions, just look at the screen name and I can almost tell what position they are going to post. Too predictable. Reign it in.
Post #199, you are generalizing again. My husband was asked to step out and showed drivers license and registration. They are police, we showed them the most respect because they are police. Duh. But if we did run away or something, you bet they will do something.
Yep. MidwestDad3 certainly denotes the flaming liberal that I am!
DrGoogle, were you generalizing in Post 200?
Of course I’m generalizing when I say black people are more likely to be pulled over without a good reason than are white people. But studies have also shown this to be true. So does a reduced likelihood of being pulled over for no good reason constitute a privilege? I’d say it does. But it’s really just a symptom of the broader set of privileges that come from being white. Like all privileges, you don’t notice them so much if you have them. People in First Class don’t think too much about the size of seats in Economy.
*Those that are saying that using Romney as an example in this particular point is not necessarily political are correct, I think. It strikes me he is being used as an example of someone who started out wealthy and connected politically (the latter is not the same thing as being political) who lived a life and made at least one statement in particular that is relevant to the subject. Would it have been easier if an example that had never entered the political arena (officially) had been found? Sure, but in the course of his political pursuits Romney talked a lot and made the statement in question. It’s a fine line sometimes, but it seems clear, to me at least, he was being criticized in this discussion for the part of his life that involves his perceptions as a man that started with wealth and became wealthier. To whatever extent that makes him typical of a certain class in this country or helps make a point regarding those issues, so be it. Agree with that criticism, disagree…that’s what debate is. But in this case, it is more that he is a person with a particular background and public statements than that he happens to be a politician.
So let’s drop the line that using Romney (or any politician) as an example when what is being discussed is something in their biography outside of politics is automatically making a thread political. I can think of a dozen cases right off the top of things prominent Democrats have said they did when younger, or even while in office, that would make them fair game as examples for non-political issues being debated. It is when those debates start touching on policy and how that person might be involved in that policy making that it becomes political. Other than those few posts, this mostly has stayed non-political. Let’s keep it that way, and if one can find examples like Romney that are not so overtly in the political arena, it would help cut down on the distractions. Thanks.*
So Nicky Hilton getting her very expensive wedding dress caught on her Bentley when going to marry James Rothschild at Kensington Palace must have been a challenging life experience, relatively speaking. Yup, its all relative.
Just trying to lighten things up a bit…
“) Has more privilege than average (white, grew up relatively well off, etc.)
2) Plays the “I was poor once card” despite this (the “grad student exception” lol) and
3) Criticizes others who are really poor, born with significantly less privilege, etc.”"
Can someone ever criticize someone else who is born with significantly less privilege? Or does their lack of privilege mean that they should be immune to criticism?
Is it possible to say, for example, it’s not right / fair that the black kid dressed in khakis going door-to-door politely asking for support for a cause didn’t “deserve” to have the cops called on him just for being black – but that there is also really, really bad behavior in other black communities that doesn’t serve the good people in those communities well? Is it always wrong to say “pull up your pants, study in school, and stop making babies”? Or for that matter “protest things peacefully instead of looting and burning innocent shopkeepers’ stores”? Or should I just keep my mouth shut because as a well-to-do white woman, I can’t critique anything about anyone who has less privilege than me?
Well, IMO the fairness of a comment is inversely proportional to the extent of the generalization. So, yeah, “stop making babies” seems grossly out of line to me.
I must say, I have enjoyed reading this thread. I think it would do wonders for our country if we could have more IRL conversations like this, where different sides of an issue can be heard and discussed.
Aren’t differences what make the fabric of American life? And, the ability to discuss and hear all viewpoints, then work towards a compromise?
I, for one, am tired of all of the acrimony coming from both sides of our political system. I think we would be a better country if we would actually listen and try to understand, even if we don’t or can’t agree.
you know that’s not what is meant, PG. It’s not useful to have conversations where someone misrepresents meaning, ignores context, and generally strawmans in order to win points.
The context was clearly people who play at being poor (step 2) in order to delegitimatize the concerns of the actual poor.
Clearly any one person can have flaws that can be improved on. But “the poor” are not lazy bums having babies to collect welfare. So yeah, don’t generalize.
And then I won’t generalize about rich, clueless, socalled liberals.
"I must say, I have enjoyed reading this thread. I think it would do wonders for our country if we could have more IRL conversations like this, where different sides of an issue can be heard and discussed.
Aren’t differences what make the fabric of American life? And, the ability to discuss and hear all viewpoints, then work towards a compromise?
I, for one, am tired of all of the acrimony coming from both sides of our political system. I think we would be a better country if we would actually listen and try to understand, even if we don’t or can’t agree."
It seems unfair that I can only like this post one time.
Must be because I’m a woman
“But “the poor” are not lazy bums having babies to collect welfare. So yeah, don’t generalize.”
I didn’t say “the poor” are lazy. And I didn’t say they were having babies explicitly to collect welfare.
Is it true or not that the rate of unmarried childbearing is different amongst different races? No judgment, just a statement of fact. If that’s the case, why can’t that be pointed out? BTW, I have an unmarried niece who is going to have a baby, so I’m not pointing fingers from a morality standpoint - just noting that sometimes choices impact the trajectory of one’s life.
No catcalls (cougar calls) for your trouble? 
I support plenty of liberal policies. Don’t lump me in with the social conservatives, please 
That said, I do think there is sometimes a culture of victimhood.
Don’t worry. I’m lumping you totally in with the “liberals,” (though tempted to modify with the other L word.)
Pizzagirl, no offense to you (if you consider it so),but you sound a awful lot like a conservative. However, I like to hope that people have independent thought, and don’t merely form opinions on party lines, because someone told them how they should think, based upon party lines.
I believe that the message of empowerment is powerful, and the message of victimhood should be avoided at all costs. However, it appears to be totally different how people approach this concept.
Pizza girl has a son who is a Republican. Maybe there is a bit of influence from her son?
Just out of curiosity, why is the “other L” persuasion so reviled?
Am guessing it is libertarian.
“Can we at least set aside any implication that the Republicans have a lock on privilege, or that the Democrats don’t? Regardless of how they may now vote, some politicians in both parties faced significant adversity while growing up, and some were born into families of substantial privilege”
Most definitely. However, I don’t see anyone on this thread bashing Democrats who were born into some sort of supposed privilege, so I think you absolutely missed the point. People don’t see how completely blind that their bias makes them.
“I think all anyone is saying is that when someone gets up on a platform, we expect them to “walk the walk,” whether it is Obama, Clinton, Clinton, Pelosi, Romney, Bush, Bush, Bush, Sanders, Cruz, Rubio, Fiorina, or [fill in the blank].”
Really? Dying to know which one of them you think is “walking the walk”. The only one I see doing that is “fill in the blank”. Most all of them are purely talking rhetoric to placate the base, while raking in the big bucks from their wealthy donors.