tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post2207440648766876433..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Educate YourselfAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-38534927901853000832017-03-23T20:48:47.464-04:002017-03-23T20:48:47.464-04:00Which I suppose in turn is a perversion of the Chr...Which I suppose in turn is a perversion of the Christian idea that the prince of this world has blinded the eyes of all he can, and only by the grace of God can we see our true condition.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-80088167821885293122017-03-22T21:33:37.656-04:002017-03-22T21:33:37.656-04:00That, in turn, is a species of the old Marxist tri...That, in turn, is a species of the old Marxist trick of "false consciousness." You're so oppressed by the forms of capitalism/racism/sexism/heteronormativism/whateverism, you can't see how oppressed you are -- you think you're happy! The only way you can prove that you are awake (or 'woke,' as they say now) is by learning how to reliably express our preferred view of reality!Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-28650658320222565442017-03-22T19:10:37.701-04:002017-03-22T19:10:37.701-04:00It has a connotation of "Eat the red pill,&qu...It has a connotation of "Eat the red pill," or whichever one it is that lets you perceive the Matrix. The conspiracy that has controlled your life behind the scenes, which you are now woke to. Of course, if you do some research and reach a different conclusion, you're still under the spell and they can't help you.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-39285892634901668672017-03-22T14:57:28.495-04:002017-03-22T14:57:28.495-04:00I had not thought of those uses. I may or may not...I had not thought of those uses. I may or may not have ever heard them - don't know. But it gives a different spin. "If you look into this at all you can only come to one obvious conclusion." Which may be closer to the subtext than what I was saying originally.<br /><br />Without using that exact phrase I can see myself taking that tack at some time. Let me think of an example... Talking about the composition of the House and Senate over the years, and what the trends have been. It's a matter of record, you can just look it up. Or whether Olympic throwing events go for greater distance now. Look it up. It gets trickier when there is a strong majority opinion but a minority opinion that clings on. I wouldn't tend to say "educate yourself" about that, because the minority opinion might at minimum have points in its favor, even if it is not fully true.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-8998055064535060152017-03-22T14:24:39.122-04:002017-03-22T14:24:39.122-04:00I think Ground Zero for the phrase was the SJW mov...I think Ground Zero for the phrase was the SJW movement, in particular the racial segment. I could very well be wrong about this—it's just my impression—but I remember the demand to "educate yourself" being current several years ago among campus race activists, referring to such concepts as privilege, appropriation, and so forth. The idea being that only someone ignorant of these ideas would refuse to accept them.<br /><br />Come to think of it, the idea of "Feminism 101" may predate it and have led to it. Much talk about how tiresome it was for feminists to keep having to "teach Feminism 101" to the recalcitrant, assumed [again] to be simply ignorant.<br /><br />"If you disagree with us, we'll talk at you until we make you agree," when you consider it, may not be the best strategic approach to take to social change. But it is emotionally rewarding to place yourself at the acme of knowledge and all who disagree as ipso facto beneath you—even people who, objectively, are far more knowledgeable than you are.<br /><br />And (as the Feminism 101 thing shows) this exalted position can even come with no self-imposed sense of obligation to teach others, but rather an eyerolling sense of being imposed on by the notional ignorance of those others.jaedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03328666344764784829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-65495538255715575372017-03-22T11:47:10.276-04:002017-03-22T11:47:10.276-04:00Interestingly, the anti-vax and alternative medici...Interestingly, the anti-vax and alternative medicine crowd includes lots of conservatives and libertarians. Bethany over at Graph Paper Diaries and I have had interesting discussions on this. Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-35400305172998906882017-03-22T11:35:41.613-04:002017-03-22T11:35:41.613-04:00"Educate yourself," then, appears to mea...<i>"Educate yourself," then, appears to mean "listen to only one side of things." Powerful. </i><br /><br />Which reminds me of a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/16697.William_F_Buckley_Jr_" rel="nofollow">William F. Buckley, Jr.</a> quote: <i>"Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.” </i><br /><br />Variation: <i>“Though liberals do a great deal of talking about hearing other points of view, it sometimes shocks them to learn that there are other points of view.” </i>RichardJohnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07490819511630683969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-77617127475072947962017-03-22T11:32:45.188-04:002017-03-22T11:32:45.188-04:00Alternate reasoning and explanation/information NO...Alternate reasoning and explanation/information NOT gladly accepted. See most college campi for examples.Sam L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00996809377798862214noreply@blogger.com