tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post5065658830022451546..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: RacismAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-91303704187192974982018-07-05T05:54:39.789-04:002018-07-05T05:54:39.789-04:00Yes... it does resemble hammer/nail. The two organ...Yes... it does resemble hammer/nail. The two organizations that came to mind immediately were the ACLU and SPLC... yet, they don't fit the "diagnosis" in all respects. But accusations of racism fit more closely. <br /><br />I've recently moved from a city that is less than 50% white to a community that is probably 80% white. It's also a move from a neighborhood that is mostly blue collar (and one where I was among the more educated) to one that is mostly white collar and where I'm likely the least educated of any of my neighbors. I'm not entirely comfortable here, though I can't fault my white neighbors' hospitality and helpfulness. What's strange to me is the one black family on the cul de sac (moved in shortly after I did). They are NOT friendly. I'm not used to that. <br />Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-12776185241566819752018-07-04T19:23:58.862-04:002018-07-04T19:23:58.862-04:00That is fascinating research. It seems similar to...That is fascinating research. It seems similar to "When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-28732497397125940862018-07-04T18:58:22.166-04:002018-07-04T18:58:22.166-04:00There's a name for why "racist" is n...There's a name for why "racist" is no longer a "reasonable good word, a useful descriptor":<br /><br />"Perceptual and judgment creep<br /><br />Do we think that a problem persists even when it has become less frequent? Levari et al. show experimentally that when the “signal” a person is searching for becomes rare, the person naturally responds by broadening his or her definition of the signal—and therefore continues to find it even when it is not there. From low-level perception of color to higher-level judgments of ethics, there is a robust tendency for perceptual and judgmental standards to “creep” when they ought not to. For example, when blue dots become rare, participants start calling purple dots blue, and when threatening faces become rare, participants start calling neutral faces threatening. This phenomenon has broad implications that may help explain why people whose job is to find and eliminate problems in the world often cannot tell when their work is done."<br />http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6396/1465<br />Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-88892112564138157642018-07-04T16:36:10.146-04:002018-07-04T16:36:10.146-04:00Last paragraph is dead-on.Last paragraph is dead-on.Sam L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00996809377798862214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-29276385583804090622018-07-04T15:50:11.346-04:002018-07-04T15:50:11.346-04:00We of a conservative bent also overestimate the pe...We of a conservative bent also overestimate the persuasiveness of telling people 'but it really doesn't work that way'.Christopher Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00396671757183163171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-13161779034116593492018-07-04T15:11:46.472-04:002018-07-04T15:11:46.472-04:00I'm not often accused of overestimating the th...I'm not often accused of overestimating the thoughtfulness of the average liberal. Your theory does tie in with my claim that liberalism is spread and enforced socially, not logically. (The conservative equivalent its that it is too often spread with sentiment or emotion.)Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-21927706781027603742018-07-04T15:02:22.523-04:002018-07-04T15:02:22.523-04:00To be a bit contrary, you might be giving ordinary...To be a bit contrary, you might be giving ordinary people credit for thinking too much like lawyers or PR people. As professionals they should certainly be dispassionate enough to understand the implications of their statements. I'm not so sure that other people aren't actually thinking something more like 'this statement would change my opinion' without regard to the actual impact. I think Texan99 has made a number of good comments recently in this vein. The people advancing '-ism' as an argument just can't wrap their heads around the fact that some of us don't find it persuasive any more.Christopher Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00396671757183163171noreply@blogger.com