Quote:
Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall
The idea that someone wouldn’t read the underlying book for the article they are sharing is a strange phenomenon, for sure. But whatever. I’m not commenting on Taibbi, who I think lost his mind years ago.
But what I’d like to know (and this seems on point given the book’s thesis) is why are white people so very acutely knee-jerk resistant to any implication that what you have said is racist? I’m not sure this phenomenon exists with any other topic. You can hold racist ideas (small and large, conscious or implicit). There are degrees of racism. A lot of it is based on ignorance. Why is it that if someone says, “Dude, that’s racist,” all dialogue shuts down and we need to then manage your feelings for the next fifteen minutes until you are able to function as a thinking human being again?
“It creates more heat than light.” Get the fuck out of here with that bullshit. Jesus.
TM
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I'm not resistant in the slightest to the idea that Taibbi is racist. I just don't think a post that says, essentially, oh, that's so racist, without additional explanation, is adding much to the conversation. Taibbi's review of that book seems completely of a piece with the other thing of his that Sebby posted recently about the media, in that it's a bunch of drive-by cheap points rather than an effort to respond to what smart people are saying and thinking. It's no surprise that he's posting that stuff on his own site instead of getting it published, because it's self-indulgent.
I thought it would be understood by everyone that I was not sharing Taibbi because I agree with him, but maybe I needed to say that.
