remnants of a late night thread on DU ("elitism", or "not this shit again!")

[beezlebum]

OP writes that if obama loses the GE, it will not be his fault, it will not be mccain's fault, it will be the fault of american people, and went on to observe that americans are basically idiots.

responders are both clinton and obama supporters, obama supporters largely agreeing, and, clinton supporters not so much:
CS: "oh he will win, no doubt, the media wants obama! that's clear"
OS: "yeah, because the media has pimped rev wright so hard."

CS: "well, they wanted obama to win the primary, so mccain can beat him,"
OS: "you just proved the point of the OP."

then some apparently neutral person writes that most europeans are of the opinion that by and large, americans are isolated, uneducated, and yet arrogant idiots, reveling in their supreme stupidity (hard to disagree, whether you know a few europeans/have been to europe or not).

at this point, i was giggling at the absurdity- these are, after all, the usual suspects, but one post caught my eye, and i actually went to bed thinking about it (:spank:) b/c it really bugged me. it wasn't just a one-liner. it actually contained paragraphing, and it was utter and complete bs, proving once again that the attacks on obama are completely devoid of substance or sentience and reinforcing my once very reluctant and somewhat skeptical support.

"this is why clinton supporters and undecideds view the obama camp and obama as elitist and cultlike. blah blah blah etcetera."

if someone's not claiming sexism ("periodically" - streeeeetch, reeeeach...are you fucking kidding me?? give me a BREAK! how much are they paying these people to feign stupidity?? i don't guess it could be much), they're claiming elitism ("...because of your WILLFUL stupidity, this country is at war- READ: PEOPLE, including our soldiers, have been and are being blown to bits, are perpetually frightened and angry and mourning the losses of their parents, children, siblings, aunts and uncles, meanwhile, you who enabled it because you refuse to turn off the fucking tv and read a book NOT written by hannity or coulter continue to vote against your own best interests over ridiculous wedge issues"), either charge being completely inaccurate, and i have never really been sure exactly WHAT the eff the "CULT" crap was all about.

on this preposterous elitism charge, since i can't find the goddamned OP:
once again, the definition of ELITISM provides that its person believe that those with financial, intellectual, or social superiority DESERVE FAVORED TREATMENT.

examples of elitism:
A) freepers cry that progressives "hate" teh poor rich people because we believe in taxes and want to take the rich ppl'z moneyz away to give it to ppl who supposedly don't deserve it,
B) punishing poor people by reforming welfare and creating the "welfare queen" myth and outsourcing all the fucking employment so that those who already had trouble finding work would ultimately have NOTHING (not that frauds don't exist, but recipients have been generalized by freepers and their ilk) and it's okay with you because you HAVE money (or you foolishly worship those who do) and supposedly work harder than everyone else.
C) assuring that the moneyed class stays small because the smaller the group, and the less the majority has, the MORE that minority has.
D) only wealthy people should have access to quality education.

AND SO ON.

but believing that some people are stupider than others does NOT qualify as "elitist," at least not in a threatening way. it may be stretched into snobbery, but in truth there is NOTHING wrong with valuing education or those who refuse to dwell in the purgatory of stupidity.

it is the willfully ignorant who are the problem- NOT those who are DENIED access by geographical and financial disadvantage. there is nothing elitist about blaming people who sit on the couch watching bill o'rly, perpetually logged into freerepublic dot com, whether in a rusted out trailer or in an 8 bedroom mansion purchased with 3 generations worth of inheritance and excess- "poohpooh on giving a shit about anything when i OWN everything!"

there...hard to believe i lost sleep over that nonsense (esp since it's probably republican trolls)...but i do get tired of projected charges...

:rant:

[lumberjack_jeff]

1. I think that both sexism and racism in this race are comparatively trivial

compared to the class issues.
If you believe that our nominee should primarily promote the interests of working class people
- unregulated immigration isn't a good thing.
- access to health care should be universal.
- explaining to wealthy donors at a livingroom shakedown that you can get the votes of the ignorant rubes because you understand why they "cling" to their silly superstitions is inadvisable.

The ridicule of "toothless West Virginians" does no one any good. Like most Obama supporters, they are democrats too, and there is no reason to conclude that they are any more ignorant than voters in Mississippi and there is even less justification to believe that they should not be participants in our democracy.

Read this article, and especially the comments, and tell me that elitism plays no role in our politics. According to this, no one votes for John Edwards unless it's because they hate blacks, hate women and can't read.

http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/8571-john-edwards-james-lowe

This above video encapsulates why I'm a democrat.