Pulling the tail of a sleeping Lion

Not generally a good thing to do. Bill Whittle... Well, I'll just let Bill set this up for you:

A BRIEF LESSON IN ELEMENTARY SELF-DEFENSE
A few nights ago, just before bedtime, I was swimming a final blog lap for the day and came upon an entry at my friend Rand Simberg�s blog, Transterrestrial Musings. It was a simple comment about Mike Huckabee�s plan to be �energy free by 2017.� Rand was merely pointing out that a commenter had made the coveted Simpsons Nerd / Physics Nerd / Political Nerd trifecta: �In this campaign we obey the laws of thermodynamics!�

Ha-ha! And now a quick scan of the comments before off to bed�

�and I find the following � apropos of precisely nothing � nasty little cut-and-paste slash job:

Have you considered the possibility yet that you might be ignorant American redneck hillbilly fascists?

Analysis of these seven regimes reveals fourteen common threads that link them in recognizable patterns of national behavior and abuse of power. These basic characteristics are more prevalent and intense in some regimes than in others, but they all share at least some level of similarity.

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. From the prominent displays of flags and bunting to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, was always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity were common themes in expressing this nationalism. It was usually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. The regimes themselves viewed human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population was brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse was egregious, the tactic was to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. The most significant common thread among these regimes was the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people�s attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice�relentless propaganda and disinformation�were usually effective. Often the regimes would incite �spontaneous� acts against the target scapegoats, usually communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and �terrorists.� Active opponents of these regimes were inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

The poster's cut-and-paste screed (came from here actually)went on for a while. Bill decided to reply:

Now I see this sort of nonsense all the time. But for some reason, the sheer inappropriateness of it � the random, smug, bastardousity of it just got to me. I am somewhat ashamed to say it woke my inner Balrog:



And so, despite the lateness of the hour, I responded on the fly and wrote this (with three or four additional sentences added this evening):

Carl Sagan, when responding in detail to the obvious lunacy in Velikovsky�s WORLDS IN COLLISION thesis, said that doing so �sharpened the mind for useful work."

I don�t really have the time to do this correctly, but just as something to do over a milk and cookie before bed:

American, have you considered the possibility you might be a f**king idiot?

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. During WWII, �Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism� were indeed common in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan. They were identically common in the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. If patriotic displays are the sign of fascism and anti-fascism equally, then it seems to me you have proven nothing.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. Nowhere on the planet is there greater legal protection of individual rights than in ignorant redneck hillbilly fascist America. The Bill of Rights, with its iron-clad protections against self-incrimination and double-jeopardy (not to mention the writ of habeas corpus and the presumption of innocence), have never been matched in human history. And these protections are being strengthened, rather than weakened over time, as confessional protections and Miranda rights clearly show.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. Two concepts; let�s take them separately. Identification of Enemies: Al Qaeda was identified � rather slyly on our part � by the fact that they flew airplanes into Manhattan and Washington and then took credit for it. If that does not clear your bar as a realistic and accurate measure of a real � not imaginary � enemy, then you fail the Reasonable Man test. This will comes as more of a shock to you than it does to us. Second, a �scapegoat� is used to focus the rage of a group or individual on another to make up for slights and humiliations. It is the refuge of a loser� such as humiliated Germany in the 20�s and 30�s. The United States, you museum-grade idiot, is the most successful society in history: not just economically and militarily (as if that wasn�t enough) but also as the undisputed leader in science and technology, the arts, music, film and overall cultural influence. There has never been a people less in need of a scapegoat than Americans. YOU, however, are a loser. And your search for a scapegoat is rather pathetically unraveling.

Bill proceeds to demolish each line-item of this persons 14 points and then closes with this excellent observation and idea:

Now I only copy this exchange here for one reason:

Many people hear or read something like �american�s� rant and think that because it is structured and literate there must be something to it. How many college students today, when presented with such nonsense, would read it and think that they are approaching the days of a Nazi state?

Lots.

Damn it! Lots of them would. Why? Because, like the 9/11 conspiracy �troofers,� no one bothers to call these people out. Thinking about this response took half again as long as actually typing it did: which is to say a few minutes. That is because I know how far from reality this diatribe is. These are things I think about every day, and likely, so do you. Realizing from scratch that his point was absurd, the specifics were easy.

We can no longer afford to let this anti-American garbage pass unchallenged. As a kind and secure people, we tend to let a lot of this go under the bridge, but this kind of crap gets more and more traction, and those days I think must come to an end for a while.

Now normally I do not employ personal ridicule, but I was writing in the heat of the moment and I thought it was no less than such a puerile attempt deserved. These people need to be challenged, factually defeated, thrashed, and mocked.

There was a time when common sense was prevalent enough that arguments this absurd would be laughed at on the street. I mean to return to those times, one self-righteous idiot at a time.

Wonderful words and a wonderful solution -- to be mocked burns deeply. It might just prompt these jackasses to actually think (shudder).