The brand spanking new Southern strategy
Other working title: Fuck 'em, they're hateful bigots
Ezra at Pandagon, in a sweet moment of actually wanting unity with the ignorant fucks who showed up at the polls and swung the election in an effort to register their burning hate, and for no other reason, suggests that we understand that the bigots are just ignorant and try to reach out to them instead of mocking 'em.
First of all, that's no fun.
And second of all, there is no reaching out to people who are ignorant and proud of themselves. There is only shaming them until they die or get a fucking clue.
Civil rights battles were not won by convincing racists to hate blacks a little less. They were won by heaping shame and disgust on them for being racists. Making them feel small-minded and hateful, because they are. Giving them the slightest encouragement only emboldens them.
There is a world of difference between disapproving of someone because of what they are (gay, black, Jew, female, etc.) and disapproving of someone because they stick by a lame-brained belief only because it makes them feel like they are someone special because at least they aren't a (fill in slur).
When someone says something homophobic, I don't suggest reaching out. I suggest holding your nose and saying, "They still make you?" Eventually, they will get a fucking clue.
posted by Amanda Marcotte at
3.11.04
15 Comments:
Where you're from? Where are you from--Homophobia? Then kiss my ass. I'm from Texas, bitch, the reddest state there is. Doesn't make me a bigot. Why not?
BECAUSE THAT'S A FUCKING CHOICE YOU MAKE.
Not a place you are from.
11/03/2004
Fuck this "Liberals are supposed to be tolerant" shit. Being nice is what got us into this mess.
11/03/2004
Good god there is nothing more irritating than a conservative who gets angry because you won't adhere to his stereotypes of liberals as mealy-mouthed morons. Sorry assholes--tolerance is code for weakness. You aren't strong because of the sheer numbers of people you choose to hate. I never said I was tolerant of shit, anyway. I accept things. I don't "tolerate" gays like they are a menace to be tolerated. Menace my ass. Gays and lesbians are like anyone else, and they are a generally much easier to live next to than some asshole with a Bush/Cheney sign in his yard.
I'm sick and tired of being characterized as weak. It's fucking weak-minded to think that you have some sort of strength because you are a sheep follower who votes for Bush. How dumb do you have to be? How sheeplike? How weak and scared?
11/03/2004
Hi Amanda, I wanted to email you this question, because it has nothing to do with this topic! Anyway, I couldn't find an email, so here's my question: At http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/001589.php , you stated this in the comments:
"The lines here are not bad. Early voting helps cut back, and we have a huge number of booths."
I found this comment while searching for info on the difference in the number of booths when comparing small "white" towns with larger urban areas with more minorities. Needless to say, Texas is obviously a Bush state, so I am curious. Do you think there is a relation between number of booths and demographic? I am from a small "white" town, and we had 12 booths at our precinct. Someone from a larger city informed me that there were much larger lines at their precinct, because there were only 8 booths. I am from Marshall, MI and my friend is from Detroit, MI. Obviously, Detroit has a heavy minority vote.
My email is: jasonbeals@msn.com
11/04/2004
Sounds good as far as it goes. But some of their hate, like anti-semitism, probably comes from the fact that their lives bite. They don't know what to do about it, so they look for a scapegoat. I say we point this out, point out that the conservative elite uses them for its own unrelated purposes, and give them actual solutions (e.g., an end to wage slavery). It seems best to suggest the solutions first. -Omar
11/04/2004
The South still suffers from the enduring moral corruption of a slave economy. Southern religiosity is hypocritical and fraudulent. The South's moral superiority to the Northeast and the West Coast seems to result only in more poverty, crappy education, higher divorce rates and higher rates of violent crime. I'll be damned if I'm going to stand by wringing my hands while these God-addled bigots (I'm a devout Episcopalian, by the way) try to pull my beloved New England down to their Scopes monkey trial mentality. We must fight these bastards with everything we've got.
11/04/2004
Wow, I never knew there was such hate out there for where I am from.Yeah? Try being from California and going, oh, pretty much anywhere else in the country. I hear New Yorkers get hit pretty hard on this one too.
A tip from an acquaintance who is recovering from an evangelical upbringing: the bigoted fuckhats *like* it when you hate them. Makes them feel all special. However, if you treat them with pity and sorrow, it throws them all off. They have NO idea how to react if you shake your head sadly and say "I will pray for God to bring love into your heart."
Shaming is good, too.
11/04/2004
When I used the term "Southern strategy", I was refering to Nixon's euphemism for race-baiting. Gay-baiting is effective all over the country. Anyone who thinks that Bible literalists are confined to the South anymore probably has another thing coming.
It is both a blessing and a curse that the blue/red breakdown isn't as geographical as the pundits would like to believe. On one hand, it increases your chances of running it scary Jesus freaks. On the other, it means that they must be forced to confront their prejudices on a daily basis sometimes.
11/04/2004
Try being from California and going, oh, pretty much anywhere else in the country. I hear New Yorkers get hit pretty hard on this one too.
Hell, yeah. Anyone remember how, when New York's Congressional delegation had the temerity to ask for the reconstruction money it had been promised after 9/11, the fine folks from those God-fearin' states called us "money-grubbing?" And we all know what that's a code for: those Jews in New York are trying to cheat us.
"We're all New Yorkers now." Sure. That lasted all of two weeks.
11/04/2004
As a native Upstate New Yorker transplanted to coastal Massachusetts, I am well aware of the nationwide reach of fundamentalist Christianity. My home region of West-Central New York was once known as the "Burned-Over District", a reference to the nineteenth century religious revival that swept across the area. That movement, however, gave rise to the abolitionist and womens' movements, centered in places like Seneca Falls and Rochester. This great tradition of evangelical progressivism has given way to the corrupt, human rights-averse Southern model. Upstate New York is now dotted with right-wing fundamentalist churches presided over by venal frauds selling fear and hate to a gullible populace. You're right, Amanda. Southernism isn't just for Southerners anymore.
11/04/2004
Yes, the way the Blue States get treated is pretty shameful. It's perfectly ok to bash NY and California, but if you dare hint that Texas is less than perfect, you're unAmerican. It was fine for Bush to call Kerry a "MA liberal" as if it were a bad thing, but if Kerry had given tit for tat and mocked Bush for being a Texas conservative, the media would have lynched him.
Donald brings up an interesting point--religion was once channeled into a progressive force (although it was simultaneously used by many to campaign *against* progressivism). Perhaps a possible liberal strategy would be to quote religious leaders of the early women's movement who campaigned against domestic violence and so forth when we fight for those same causes today. Mythago's "I'll pray for your soul" idea is also interesting. At the very least, it'll throw the fundies off balance.
-Linnet
11/04/2004
We still haven't won against racism. But that's another story. The fact that it is ok to heap shame on gay people for something that doesn't even bother anyone legitimately(seriously, there could be a lesbian orgy next door- doesn't affect me) and not to heap shame on people for hating gays for reasons that make no sense is part of the dominance/not dominant split.
Dominant groups are allowed to say anything about oppressed groups even if it has no relation to reality- to hear some people tell it, spanish speaking langston hughes quoting minorities have ruined the schools and gays are running wild in the streets breaking up straight families, but oppressed groups can't even critize the dominant group without having to hear about how for example Christians are opppressed because they are told to act in a way that respects everyone's rights.
I don't know why.
11/04/2004
I guess for the same reason that your boss can criticize you, but not the other way around. Everyone sympathizes with the strong--it's the dirty little secret of human nature.
I agree that we have a long way to go with racism. However, we've come out on the other side of the biggest hump in the road--convincing people that racism is shameful, not something to be proud of. That's the difference between the subtle racism that keeps black people out of good jobs versus the more out and out racism that causes lynching and rape.
11/04/2004
2008: Obama promises coupons for free beer and NASCAR collectibles with every completed tax return. Democrats sweep the South.
11/04/2004
Everyone sympathizes with the strong--it's the dirty little secret of human nature.I'm not sure that's true. I think it's more a combination of power and fear. People boss-bash all the time--only in whispers and outside the office. The reason they don't criticize their bosses in public is because they're afraid of getting fired. Dominant groups know they can say whatever they want because there are more of them than there are people in the groups they're insulting.
I'm disappointed that we can't reason with the hate-folks. I don't particularly enjoy pitying and shaming. But I think you're right: It's the only way to affect them. Personally, I intend to grow a superiority complex designed specifically for people whose moral code requires harming others.
Hestia
11/04/2004
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