en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/622032 Comments by WaltBennett http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87938013 Her comments make little sense. To say there is "no evidence that tea party adherents are any more racist than other Republicans, and indeed many other Americans" is to mis-state the premise. The premise is that racists are more comfortable at Tea Party gatherings than at other political gatherings, for which the evidence presented so far is at least admissible. Dismissing this issue as though there is no such evidence is lame and useless. The evidence is there, let's make sense of it. Denying its evidentiary value is baseless. This issue actually peaked several months ago. Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:18:42 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87938013 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87775213 Wiped away what? I've wiped away nothing. And if your statement "It's the internet dude" means "anything goes", you're going to have to learn how wrong you are. Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:43:09 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87775213 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87768996 Well whatever your name is, I agree that we've had discussions, and evidently you were deciding who you were on those days. As regards the most recent thread, not so much. As for any chance of that in the future, zero. Tue, 20 Jul 2010 23:20:20 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87768996 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87713921 There's nothing you can do to get me to take you seriously. You chose an unacceptable method to communicate. And you're deluded if you think we were communicating at any point in that thread. Read it back. I had your number early on. Didn't know you were spoofing all those IDs but I sure enough knew you were playing games. People who think they're smart enough to define rules that only they know and which benefit only them, are real threats to the rest of us. Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:08:38 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87713921 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87668352 You haven't really expressed a "belief system", not in the way I mean. I'm also not remotely amused at your tactic of representing false faces to Morris. I don't know if the face you're showing me now is true or false. You sound like a bright guy, but if you think you got booted from Morris' blog for being too correct for him to stand, you're way off base. As you know, I routinely argue with Morris, including about Gates and the Tea Party, and I am still there. Why? Because I want to be, and so I behave in a way which allows the conversation to continue. Your display as Harold was disgusting in every way. And just as he was so wrong about taxes according to your tale, where is your recognition that you too, can be quite wrong about something? In any case, I don't have much of an appetite for discussing anything in depth with you at this point, because you're more interested in playing games than resolving anything. Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:18:14 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87668352 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87521300 Harold, over here you can say whatever you want and I won't delete or edit you. Well, I suppose you could get ridiculous, but insulting is fine and have at it. My issue is with your use of the word "truth". Truth is in the eyes of the beholder. I would think as a scientist you would be more interested in "facts". Is it a fact that there are no racists in the Democrat and Republican parties? The correct answer is that we cannot answer the question without more information. Is it a fact that there are racist posters at some Tea Party rallies? Yes. Is it a fact that, to date, no such posters have been identified at Democrat or Republican rallies? The answer to that is "Likely." It is possible that such a poster was at such a rally and went unreported. However, this is unlikely due to the nature of such information. It would clearly be "newsworthy" and thus highly likely to be reported. You should tell me more about yourself, what your specific views are and how you came to hold them. By this point, you have left science far behind and are now clearly in the territory of "belief systems." So let's talk about that. Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:45:01 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87521300 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87496361 Harold, You could have trumped him at any time with evidence. You have worn this topic out while accomplishing nothing. in the ever-busy internet era, you are a waste of time that we really can't afford. Since you are so determined to make a difference, perhaps you will learn from this experience, where you basically cancelled yourself out after being granted legitimacy. Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:41:35 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87496361 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87411014 Harold, your problem is that you aren't reading what I write. I specifically said that if a Democrat or a Republican says the wrong thing it's news for a week. Don't think for an instant, in the age of CNN, MSNBC and FOX that there is any chance whatsoever that any incidence of racism at any gathering of either of those parties would go unreported. There is a point to be made about not overdoing the inference, and I have made it. This is not a new topic at the MoKelly blog and you have not done your homework. And you've made a habit of completely ignoring my comments. You have morphed from a person who, to me, was clearly acting a part when you first came in, to revealing yourself as a massively pompous ass. And I don't say that lightly. You ignore our points, trumpet your own, declare the case cracked and proceed to insult us. Tell me how you expect that behavior to be received. And bottom line, Harold, your arguments are weak. And as convinced as you are of their strength, you have a long way to go to get to a place of understanding. And if you keep using the phrase "objective truth" I think I will puke. Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:04:19 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1283#IDComment87411014 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1279#IDComment82598522 Whereas I see the only options for the U.S. to be truce or defeat. By now the insurgency handbook is too well written. The counter-insurgency handbook has been revealed to not be "one size fits all." We will see what we will see, but the Taliban is slippery as an eel. You say they 'need" the warlords, well the reverse is also true and those ties run deep. You actually made the point for me, about how impossible it will be to eradicate the Taliban. As for your belief that they will never agree to a form of government which will gain international acceptance, how about we get them to the table and find out? Oh and by the way, thanks for stopping by, and I mean that. I don't get many visitors. Sun, 27 Jun 2010 18:06:45 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1279#IDComment82598522 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1259#IDComment70682808 We agree completely on that. Morris, take heed. Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:18:43 +0000 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1259#IDComment70682808 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1259#IDComment70673883 I liked it :-) Mon, 26 Apr 2010 15:01:54 +0000 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1259#IDComment70673883 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1259#IDComment70668551 Dwayne First I apologize if you or anybody else came here at midnight looking for my show. I fell asleep (lol). We will try again tonight. Second, I like what you have to say about human nature - or perhaps animal instinct. We live in a time when everybody gets a voice, but not everybody thinks about things deeply enough to have an educated opinion. And they are deeply suspicious of those of us who do. I am not sure how to unravel that. No amount of talking that you and I could ever do would address that. There are people who call themselves American, who as you note do not believe in a melting pot America, certainly not an America that invites blacks and latinos to have broader roles in society. Absolutely a skin-tone-based prejudice. Absolutely. "Bowling For Columbine" got this one thing very, very right: We have been brainwashed as a society to fear people of color. Of course we were always inclined to do so anyway, but the mass media jumped all over it and pumped it up to the point where, for many years, the evening news was a parade of black and brown faces of those we should be afraid of, in graphic detail. We are seeing perhaps the last gasp of that generation. Today's news doesn't look like that. BFC had an enormous impact on that, which I don't believe anybody but me acknowledges. Today's youth, those under 30, do not suffer from irrational fears of people of color. If we leave them alone - seriously, if we leave them alone - they will figure this out. Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:15:14 +0000 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1259#IDComment70668551 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1252#IDComment69806041 Dwayne, Gracias. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:59:28 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1252#IDComment69806041 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1249#IDComment69773576 Dwayne, Any lack of clarity would have to be on the part of the reader. :-) Thanks as always for your insight and your passion. Please keep writing. Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:31:13 +0000 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1249#IDComment69773576 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1249#IDComment69437381 Dwayne, I didn't know there was a limit to what you can enter. I link my comments through intenseDebate (primarily to screen spam) and they must have a limit. I would also like to find a way to approve your comments automatically but I haven't figured that out yet. Anyway, I don't see anything in your comments above that indicates we're not seeing eye to eye on this. And you know why that is? Because we have a demonstrated ability to talk to each other, not at each other nor past each other. It starts from a basic respect that we are both on the side of good, seeking the way forward. Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:14:56 +0000 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1249#IDComment69437381 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1246#IDComment69401430 Dwayne, We are soldiers in the real fight for a post-racial America. We are guarding our children from all its ravages, including the aftershocks. It's full-time work, eh? Wed, 21 Apr 2010 19:21:53 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1246#IDComment69401430 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1249#IDComment69078367 Dwayne, I swear there isn't much room for me to maneuver once you've got a point surrounded. :-) As you know from more than a year ago, I feel very strongly that we run a real risk of inventing an issue or perhaps maximizing an issue which could have been dealt with more subtly and perhaps should have. We have a tendency in this society to want to make things jump off. I consider such behavior to be insane and suicidal. Why would anybody want to add chemicals to a mixture with the express intent of blowing things up? I do not understand that. As a result, I end up spending more time scolding my friends than excoriating my enemies. As you point out, they aren't listening to me anyway, whereas at least my friends are. I so wish that we all lived in the same part of the world and could get together for the occasional beer and chat, because we need a whole lot more of that in this society. You mention people who say 'Fuck diversity" and you react in fear that they mean they don't want you around. No, they don't want to be told who to hang around. And you should certainly recognize that it's an ever-shrinking minority who feel that way. I personally have no reaction to being surrounded by all Hispanics, as happened just last night at a bar where I was shooting pool. But do I understand that some whites would be looking over both shoulders? I do understand that. Do I understand why some whites would be more comfortable in a redneck bar than in this place? I absolutely do. What black folk need to understand is that none of that makes a person racist, doesn't make him something to fear. And there are plenty of circumstances where he would be happy to recreate with you, believe me. Cheering for the same football team, comparing notes at the car shop, admiring the same set of golf clubs, trying to decide on a birthday gift for your wife. But people do feel threatened when they believe that change is being shoved down their throats. They can get to feeling that the minorities are trying to take over everything. Minorities should not be able to take over everything. That's why they're minorities. It would be like 100 white folk going down to Mexico and trying to make English the official language. These are real, authentic, non-violent, non-judgmental attitudes and beliefs. It's what they know, and who's to say they're wrong? Just try. See how far that conversation goes. My main point is that we have to let them express themselves. This is their country too. If there's room for our views there's room for theirs too. And damned if it won't piss them off to be lumped in with a couple of kooks and dismissed as "fringe." And so we reap what we sow. Is anybody listening? Tue, 20 Apr 2010 22:55:04 +0000 http%3a%2f%2fwaltbennett.com%2fwordpress%2f%3fp%3d1249#IDComment69078367 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1246#IDComment69065761 Dwayne, I'd say you have accurately encapsulated the explanation (if not justification) for fighting old wars. But racism is not like a virus, where if you don't stamp it out completely it can come raging back. There is no such precedent in human history. Once a group achieves equality, acceptance and immersion, it does not lose that gain. Blacks have gained a whole lot in just my lifetime, and there is no going back. Not without unimaginable violence, and also because too many people have simply outgrown the conflict or were never subjected to it in the first place. As you and I have discussed many times, our children are as color-blind as we are willing to allow them to be. And we really need to talk about that a lot more. Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:10:57 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1246#IDComment69065761 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1233#IDComment65008342 You could never go to the dark side, and I'm not a govt hater anyway. I know lots of people do good work for the PEOPLE through govt jobs. But it is nice to see you comin' round again. Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:06:42 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1233#IDComment65008342 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1233#IDComment64695029 Hey Dwayne, wassup? Did you notice my dumb little video channel? Where I talk to myself for a half hour at a time? lol I make it clear in that video that this is more a "me" thing, and that others probably deal with Facebook better than I do. Suffice it to say, it brings out my worst tendencies. And let's see more of you in discussions. There's so much going on... Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:33:56 +0000 http://waltbennett.com/wordpress/?p=1233#IDComment64695029