Dumbass America?

[BobismyRhino]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUPMjC9mq5Y

Ok, so when I first started watching this, I was annoyed, and then I was just laughing at the sheer stupidity of the masses.

I just love how people are willing to protest against people/legislation/reforms they know NOTHING about.

Your thoughts?

[wotmaniac]

this was a hit piece.
in every group of protesters, you are inevitably going to find nut-jobs mixed-in with everyone else -- there's no way around it.  that doesn't mean that the assembly, as a whole, isn't legit.
the D.C. fire department "estimated" the crowd at ~60k people; however, it would appear that this is a gross under-estimation.  a group of university researchers (who do this quite often, and with very sophisticated and reputable methods) have estimated the crown at over a million (and if you saw the "birds-eye" footage, you'd be hard pressed to refute it).

perhaps you haven't heard of the 9/12 project.  the site is LOADED with all kinds of stuff, so it may take you a while to actually take an honest look at it.

and if you doubt the "hit piece" idea, then I can produce MOUNTAINS of proof that most of the "news" outlets are actually actively pushing a dishonest agenda.

believe it or not, we have reached a true "pitchforks and torches" moment in our country, as it pertains to D.C.  it's been building for many years, and now the camel's back has been broken.  

[BobismyRhino]

I'm not laughing at the 9-12 project. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions.
Do I like the 9-12 ideals? Not really. But that really has no bearing on this current video.   

Hit piece or not, I couldn't stop myself from laughing at the (small majority of) people that went out of their way to demonstrate at DC to support a cause they knew nothing about. People can have their opinions and demonstrations, but I'd prefer them to be a tad bit more informed on the subjects before they decide to go all radical on our asses.

 

[wotmaniac]

um .... this whole thing was spawned by the 9/12 project (i've been following it since its inception).  and then just grew from there.

if you can't get behind the majority of the 9-principles and 12-values, then I really have to question your judgment and PoV.
as far as I'm concerned, you now have zero credibility with me.
and now I'm done with this thread, as I will not get bated in to the same b.s. that has been ripping us apart for the last several years.  take your hate and provocations elsewhere (and stop believing the propaganda).

just because someone is unable to effectively articulate something, does not mean that they don't know what they believe -- it just means that they are not effective communicators.  also, just because someone is unable to exactly put their finger on something that is wrong, doesn't mean that something is not awry.

[j0lt]

I'm sorry, you're questioning people's judgment while pushing something that mentions honesty twice while being essentially a FOX News mouthpiece?!  You tell other people to stop believing the propaganda and linking us to a group who appears to use FOX News as their main source of information? 

[Bauglir]

Surely everyone can agree that Hannity/Palin 2012 is among the simultaneously most terrifying and most entertaining ideas brought into being within living memory, at least, right?

[wotmaniac]

I'm sorry, you're questioning people's judgment while pushing something that mentions honesty twice while being essentially a FOX News mouthpiece?!  You tell other people to stop believing the propaganda and linking us to a group who appears to use FOX News as their main source of information? 

I'm not even gonna bother -- you've already declared a bias, and I'm sure that you will remain willfully blind to anything that I say to the contrary (and, trust me, I've got mountains of facts -- many of which come from more than a few sources).  the majority of "credible" news outlets are intentionally ignoring what should be big news stories; and intentionally twisting other stories.  Is Fox a little right-leaning?  Sure.  but at least they aren't keeping their heads buried in the sand.  also, don't confuse their hard-news with their editorial (a very frequent mistake that keeps on happening).

[Johannixx]

Surely everyone can agree that Hannity/Palin 2012 is among the simultaneously most terrifying and most entertaining ideas brought into being within living memory, at least, right?

Hell, I'm a fairly conservative guy, but that ticket scares the shit out of me.  Palin's a retard, and Hannity is just a demagogue.  Then again, the same could be said for Biden (retard) and Obama (demagogue)...

[wotmaniac]

Surely everyone can agree that Hannity/Palin 2012 is among the simultaneously most terrifying and most entertaining ideas brought into being within living memory, at least, right?

Hannity is nothing more than a partisan ideologue.
Palin is a genuine individual who had the entire media descend on her with nothing but lies, mis-characterizations, and just plain delusional hatred.  Was she the best pick?  probably not.  Is she what she has been made-out to be? not even close.

[Bauglir]

I'll give you that she's probably not as stupid as she's been made out to be, if only because somebody that stupid would have long since died of forgetting to breathe, despite the medical impossibility of dying that way. Was she at all qualified for the job she was going for, though? Not even close.

Near as I can tell, she's one of the few politicians about whom I'd say "I, with the knowledge and skills I have right now, could have done better than that". For reference, I wouldn't even say that with certainty about Bush. You really have to be a screw-up to get that reaction out of me, because I understand that in a lot of cases I'm just acting with the benefit of hindsight.

[BobismyRhino]

if you can't get behind the majority of the 9-principles and 12-values, then I really have to question your judgment and PoV.

That's good. Questioning differences eventually leads to understanding. Learn to understand that everyones' opinions and judgments are always going to be different from your own. Even a clone of yourself would have different morals and ideals. Humans are individualistic and interpret things differently. 

as far as I'm concerned, you now have zero credibility with me.

That's only because I'm not in a kitchen right now and I'm not teaching you to bake a cake.

and now I'm done with this thread, as I will not get bated in to the same b.s. that has been ripping us apart for the last several years.  take your hate and provocations elsewhere (and stop believing the propaganda).

Ok, I wasn't exactly expecting anyone to come to the defense of a bunch of inarticulate fanatics. I was merely enjoying the pure, unadulterated ignorance of a few protestors and felt the need to share my laugh. I laugh at everything, including people, and most often, myself. So I don't feel bad laughing.
You shouldn't be angry. I'm just following the 6th Principle of your organization and pursuing happiness.

just because someone is unable to effectively articulate something, does not mean that they don't know what they believe -- it just means that they are not effective communicators.

True, but I still find them funny.   

[wotmaniac]

if you can't get behind the majority of the 9-principles and 12-values, then I really have to question your judgment and PoV.

That's good. Questioning differences eventually leads to understanding. Learn to understand that everyones' opinions and judgments are always going to be different from your own. Even a clone of yourself would have different morals and ideals. Humans are individualistic and interpret things differently. 

as far as I'm concerned, you now have zero credibility with me.

That's only because I'm not in a kitchen right now and I'm not teaching you to bake a cake.

and now I'm done with this thread, as I will not get bated in to the same b.s. that has been ripping us apart for the last several years.  take your hate and provocations elsewhere (and stop believing the propaganda).

Ok, I wasn't exactly expecting anyone to come to the defense of a bunch of inarticulate fanatics. I was merely enjoying the pure, unadulterated ignorance of a few protestors and felt the need to share my laugh. I laugh at everything, including people, and most often, myself. So I don't feel bad laughing.
You shouldn't be angry. I'm just following the 6th Principle of your organization and pursuing happiness.

just because someone is unable to effectively articulate something, does not mean that they don't know what they believe -- it just means that they are not effective communicators.

True, but I still find them funny.   

the way that you had originally come across was that you were passing judgment on the whole crowd, and discounting the validity of their complaints.

BTW, when is the last time a protest of that size had exactly ZERO arrests, and left the streets cleaner than when they started?

[PhaedrusXY]

Humans are individualistic and interpret things differently. 

That doesn't agree very well with my Sheeple point of view.

[Viletta Vadim]

My, such a needlessly inflammatory title.

At any rate, Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crud.  That includes people and populaces and every movement ever.  Want to cast anything in a bad light?  Highlight that 90%.

[PhaedrusXY]

My, such a needlessly inflammatory title.

At any rate, Sturgeon's Law: 90% of everything is crud.  That includes people and populaces and every movement ever.  Want to cast anything in a bad light?  Highlight that 90%.

Ever seen Idiocracy? They used to call it "The Prophecy" at my old place of work. 

[wotmaniac]

Ever seen Idiocracy? They used to call it "The Prophecy" at my old place of work.  

and it appears that it is being fulfilled as we speak.

[Viletta Vadim]

Mind, while we're on the subject of Idiocracy, that there's still the matter of just who that 90% is.  Hubris and a smug sense of superiority can cycle back to dangerous incompetence in a heartbeat.

[wotmaniac]

[...] there's still the matter of just who that 90% is.

everybody else.   

[PhaedrusXY]

Mind, while we're on the subject of Idiocracy, that there's still the matter of just who that 90% is.  

Nah, it's pretty obvious.

[j0lt]

I'm sorry, you're questioning people's judgment while pushing something that mentions honesty twice while being essentially a FOX News mouthpiece?!  You tell other people to stop believing the propaganda and linking us to a group who appears to use FOX News as their main source of information?  

I'm not even gonna bother -- you've already declared a bias, and I'm sure that you will remain willfully blind to anything that I say to the contrary (and, trust me, I've got mountains of facts -- many of which come from more than a few sources).  the majority of "credible" news outlets are intentionally ignoring what should be big news stories; and intentionally twisting other stories.  Is Fox a little right-leaning?  Sure.  but at least they aren't keeping their heads buried in the sand.  also, don't confuse their hard-news with their editorial (a very frequent mistake that keeps on happening).

You may be surprised, but I'd say I'm not as blindly biased as the majority of people.  Regardless of which side I may or may not agree with, I prefer truth.  I'd describe myself as a centre-left libertarian.
FOX "News" is more than a little right-leaning, but that's not my main beef with them.  My main problem is that they freely mix the hard right editorials with their otherwise decent news broadcasting.  Do I think they should be shut down?  Not at all.  What I do think is that they should not be called a News channel.  I also agree that every media agency has its own biases and "agendas", the editors are, after all, only human.  But to say that other news networks are biased or pushing an agenda while referencing what is probably the MOST biased "news" network in the US doesn't exactly help your point.

As for the matter at hand, yes, the reporter was clearly targeting the most far-out/ignorant/blatant failures of logic, but that doesn't mean that a lot of conservatives don't think that way.  The amount of panic that has come over once Obama started following through on his whole "change" thing is just ridiculous!  One minute he's a Muslim terrorist, the next he's a socialist, then a Nazi...  Now, apparently he's all three?  All because (in my opinion) people are afraid of change.  What it LOOKS like is that conservative white Americans don't want medical insurance to cover all citizens.  While I'm sure that's true for a certain minority, it's clearly been blown so far out of proportion that nobody even knows what's going on anymore!