Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
At least, I Hope so. Adam M. Smith has been sacked from both his jobs, from the look of things, for his poor judgment in harassing a Chick-Fil-A server at the drive-thru, and then videotaping his own harassment and posting it on YouTube.
That embed, again:
In defense of this wart in the colon of humanity, what I think he was trying to do, was this:
This mash-up was uploaded back in ’07, but I know the experiment was going on since before that, as is evidenced by this 2005 comment on the Straight Dope message board:
In principle I agree perfectly that even the less overt forms of racism and xenophobia should be discouraged, but these ads are just so damned smug, righteous and annoying! It’s got so I always change the channel when one comes on. Does anybody else have the same reaction?
I have that reaction, and more:
This whole thing was a dumb, stupid, just plain bad idea.
Put on these “public service announcements” encouraging us — total strangers — to monitor the behavior of our friends, relatives, and other total strangers who simply consume oxygen from the same air space…looking for signs of perceived bigotry, then to act as judge, jury and snotty-lecturer.
The trouble begins with the whole “silence is consent” thing, which is plainly the point of all these ads. Silence is consent, since the whole point is to get the scolding out there…the power of one voice, and all that. If silence is consent, then awarding the benefit of the doubt, must also be consent. So presume the worst. If you look for that prejudiced behavior and you haven’t managed to find it, you must not be looking hard enough.
Again, with my litmus test: Can society continue to operate indefinitely this way? And we’ve found out, first-hand, the answer is no. Adam M. Smith practiced what the videos said people should be practicing. He did everything right. Sure, you can pick a quibble with the fact that it’s the CEO of Chick Fil A who made the comments he doesn’t like, and he took it out on a drive-thru server…which is something of a disconnect…but hey, how can you let that get in the way of the Power of One Voice??
When your cause is glorious, you’re obliged to win. All of the time.
Nifty, cool experiment. I’m sure it was inspiring when it was first thought up. And its ultimate effects are certainly a surprise…at least, maybe, to some of us, not to others of us.
But it isn’t an experiment anymore, we see where it leads. Time to declare the experiment over, m’kay? Go back to being non-judgmental and liberty-minded, as opposed to simply talking about it while scolding strangers.
And the “Freedom Center” owes the country an apology.
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