"Response to Joshua" written by Jim on estrip.org

10/13/08 02:56 - 71ºF - ID#46094

Response to Joshua

I have personally been accosted on the street in at least 5 occasions by conservatives. In Buffalo, NY, Salt Lake City, UT, and Portland, OR. In addition, protestors have been at events that I've attended an additional dozens of times.

So: conservatives never shout down liberals? You've never seen protestors yelling at a gay pride parade? You've never seen conservative marches on Washington that vilify and call for the destruction of the left? You can't dismiss them as not being conservative, because the religious right and the hawks are a core constituency of conservative power.

What you're doing would be like me condemning all conservatives just because the conservatives who go to the effort to show up at a Palin rally call Obama a terrorist. Just because conservatives attack me in the street.

If I were to judge conservatives by the most outspoken among them, I would be forced to conclude that they are incapable of making an argument that wasn't based on emotions, hated anyone who wasn't just like themselves, and that all conservatives think you're unpatriotic and a terrorist sympathizer or faggot if you disagree with them.

Luckily, I don't judge conservatives by the worse among them.

The right is getting angrier and angrier, now that they're out of power. McCain-Palin rallies demonstrate this. Who do you think is going to be protesting in the streets these next 8 years? It's going to swing as the pendulum of power swings. You're just used to seeing the left out of power, not in it.

I do accuse you of cherry picking and painting with too broad a brush. You can't see any incident without taking it as confirmation about what you already believe and are predisposed to think about groups of people. It drives me crazy.

UPDATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHICAL EVIDENCE OF CONSERVATIVES PROTESTING ME

I HAVE THUS SUCCESSFULLY PROVED THAT ALL CONSERVATIVES ARE MEAN SPIRITED LOL

heidi writes at 07:32:33 10/13/08 - Comment #40195: I just want to underscore (e:Lauren) & (e:Jim)'s point questioning a distinction between sexual orientation and political ideology.... The personal is political...

(e:Joshua) - How do you describe the Republicans outside and inside the Florida election offices where the recounts were happening in 2000? I've mostly seen them described as a MOB trying to prevent the careful process of counting ballots. With just that one super-important example, your argument that Republicans are somehow better behaved than liberals goes out the window. And then there's the well documented polling place intimidation, the removal of qualified voters from voter lists...

I'm not at all saying that election and political ugliness is reserved for Republicans. Let's look at Jim Crow laws in the South, or the literacy tests used to prevent Blacks from voting, or... our history - up to today - is replete with examples.

metalpeter writes at 07:26:26 10/13/08 - Comment #40193: I don't want to speak for (e:Joshua) I think he was at first trying to find out if Jim was attacked for being gay or for his political beliefs but I'm not sure. I do know that I was a little bit confused my self. I think the reason why he wanted to make that distinction is because being homophobic or thinking homosexuality is wrong is only a left/right or Demo/republican thing. There are people who don't like gays in every party and every political outlook.

I said something along these lines in my response to (e:joshua)'s post. One thing that people have to consider is location. Location is a big Factor. For example I go to a hockey game in Toronto and Have a Sabres Jersey a few fans might hackle me and make my life tough a little bit, But I where that to a Flyers game, I would be killed or most likely attacked or hit with something, it would be very dangerous (I assume that is still true). If I was a New Yorker out trying to enjoy my day and all of a sudden there is a politcal Rally and it is for some one I like I would chear and call my buddies and take pictures but people I don't like get in my way they get yelled at and get the finger, isn't that the New York way.

lauren writes at 05:59:55 10/13/08 - Comment #40186: "The right is getting angrier and angrier, now that they're out of power. McCain-Palin rallies demonstrate this. Who do you think is going to be protesting in the streets these next 8 years? It's going to swing as the pendulum of power swings. You're just used to seeing the left out of power, not in it."

I think that this is a really good point Jim. We really need to consider WHY people are angry and that anger most often comes out of fear and vulnerability. People rarely (if ever) give up privileges and I don't think the conservatives will go down without a fight.

Also, as hinted in the sarcasm of your final statement, I think this whole "republicans" "democrats" nonsense is silly and ultimately unproductive. I hate to say it (especially during this crucial time) but democrats and republicans are pretty much the same.

oh and (e:joshua) I want to make it very clear that your "distinction" between sexual preference and political ideology is seriously lacking. I'm not ever sure what your point is. That you can't "see" someone's politics? What about when you can't "see" someone's sexuality? What about when someone says some homophobic shit to me cause I "look" straight? And I question your focus on the fanatics or "Jesus Freaks" as different that your average person walking down the street. Do these people really have that different of ideals that others who don't show up to these rallies? Would you be that surprised if random person X started spouting anti-gay nonsense if they thought you agreed?

This was intended to be a short comment :)

jim writes at 04:55:35 10/13/08 - Comment #40179: Said to me, wearing a kerry shirt in '04:

"If you want to vote for those dems, you should just leave the country since you hate it so much."

That is concrete, that is real. Said to my face, unprovoked, by a conservative. It happens all the time, not on Elmwood sure or in NYC, but in Salt Lake City, (to me, that time). In the south, in rural areas.

It might not be as organized, but it's just as angry and confrontational.

james writes at 04:53:29 10/13/08 - Comment #40176: wait, so it is appropriate to be a dick at things like gay pride parades or rallies because they are scheduled.

But it is not appropriate to yell the same things at a passing parade?

jim writes at 04:48:47 10/13/08 - Comment #40173: Those times I was referencing being personally confronted weren't at gay rallies. I mentioned that in a previous comment.

I am talking purely just walking down the street minding my own business.

jim writes at 04:43:49 10/13/08 - Comment #40172: My argument is theoretical? My argument is explicitly concrete. What are you talking about?

Yes, Joshua, two of those times it was for mildly political t-shirts that I was wearing (ie, generically pro-democrat), while otherwise minding my business.

joshua writes at 04:13:43 10/13/08 - Comment #40168: If you were accosted on the street, was it because people were picking on your sexual preference or your political ideology? Which is it? If you are telling me that people have randomly come up to you out of the shadows to belittle your faith in liberal orthodoxy, I'm skeptical.

I know damn well you guys deal with a lot of BS from people at gay rallies, and I'm sure they have all kinds of colorful names for you. I've lambasted those people in the past - we all know they are evil people. You said I can't dismiss them as not being conservative - actually Jim I never did anything of the sort. I was interested in your comment about a stereotypical characterization of conservatives though. You're suggesting that the video I posted was cherry picking when it was ridiculously obvious that it wasn't... which is exactly why I posted it. You're building your argument of contrasts and comparisons on a case that can't be made credibly. This wasn't a rally, it wasn't a campaign stop, it wasn't a protest - it occurred on the streets of Manhattan's UWS. Find me a non-rally, non-campaign stop, non-protest example that can be paired with what I've posted and we'll talk. Otherwise I'm not comparing apples to oranges.

And the answer to your first question is no, for the reasons I've already explained in the comments section of my journal. It isn't a matter of being blind - it's a matter of understanding the political DNA of the people you are talking about. There is always an example of one asshole out of many, but as a rule the GOP don't behave like caged animals in the same way that liberals do, and it is a well-established method of expressing their views that liberals have clung to since the Vietnam War. The GOP is not the party of the loud-mouthed protester/activist nor will it ever be. Your argument is theoretical and mine is not. You are making the mistake of believing that liberals and conservatives behave in the same manner. It is not true, nor has it ever been true in America!

I still find it curious that no self-avowed liberals can acknowledge what they've seen in the video I've posted.

jim writes at 03:29:20 10/13/08 - Comment #40164: So, you would say in very conservative areas no one would ever yell anything at someone wearing an Obama t-shirt, just walking down the street? You are blind.

My photo is of a conservative protestor at a parade, yes, but the times that I reference being accosted on the street, I was just on the street and randomly harrassed by strangers. Randomly. On the street. By passers-by. Thank you very much.

So - who am I going to believe, you or my lying eyes? I've lived through what you dismiss, and I can tell you, you are wrong. I know this from what I've personally seen and had to deal with, not something off of youtube.

joshua writes at 03:25:18 10/13/08 - Comment #40162: Jim, you're being entirely too simplistic. I've already made the distinction between what you are talking about and the everyday man on the street that the McCain/Palin supporters were dealing with on the Upper East Side. It's an important distinction that can't be ignored. The people you are highlighting are the craziest among them, and the people you saw in my video are everyday people on the street. You can't credibly compare the two, Jim, because of obvious reasons, the most obvious being the differences between a Jesus Freak specifically showing up at gay rallies and those just walking down the street in NYC.

Permalink: Response_to_Joshua.html
Words: 319
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: culture

10/11/08 08:54 - 60ºF - ID#46067

The Wrongest Thing Ever

You can take a class field trip to an Apple store:

This sucks so much. They must have had actual requests from schools that caused them to set up an official program. Yuck.

Permalink: The_Wrongest_Thing_Ever.html
Words: 41
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: buffalo

10/11/08 08:29 - 45ºF - ID#46056

HAPPY OCTOBER STORMIVERSARY!

Tomorrow, October 12th, is the second anniversary of the October Storm.

Hard to believe, hard to forget! Here's my yearly look back in photos, to October 12-13, 2006:

Permalink: HAPPY_OCTOBER_STORMIVERSARY_.html
Words: 94
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: trekkies

10/10/08 12:10 - 59ºF - ID#46042

CAPTAIN PICARD

OF THE U S S ENTERPRISE

This video is made of awesome.

Permalink: CAPTAIN_PICARD.html
Words: 22
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: dreams

10/10/08 09:45 - 50ºF - ID#46037

Strange Dream

I had a dream last night that I was a run away child of a Yakuza mobster. Drew and Janelle took me in as a foster child.

Then, it started getting even weirder. They kept finding other kids hidden in their house that I'd took pity on and invited over. Like, we'd be in the living room and all of a sudden we'd notice some kid hidding under the couch. Or in closets, just everywhere.

Drew and Janelle were very sympathetic and didn't want to force these kids to go back out on the streets, but by the end of the dream there were like 30 of us kids in their house and they were starting to panic about how to take care of us. They were very aggravated with me for putting them in the position of having to take in all these kids, but were too nice to say anything.

Then I woke up.

Permalink: Strange_Dream.html
Words: 155
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: humor

10/09/08 08:41 - 56ºF - ID#46011

Obama Debate Prep

Permalink: Obama_Debate_Prep.html
Words: 8
Location: Buffalo, NY

10/07/08 09:01 - 38ºF - ID#45973

E:Strip Holiday Dinner

I'll be planning an (e:strip) holiday dinner, for sometime in early December (between Thanksgiving and Christmas).

This post is just a heads up, I'll make another post in a month to nail down availability and the best times for everyone.

JJ's and India Gate have both worked out OK in the past. If the group is big enough I'll reserve a banquet room somewhere to make sure we have enough space. Any ideas along these lines, please comment!

Cheers,

Jim

Permalink: E_Strip_Holiday_Dinner.html
Words: 81
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: culture

10/02/08 08:30 - 51ºF - ID#45903

Yak Shaving

An awesome term, for when you find yourself doing some task at 8 removes from what you meant to be doing, each step along the way seemingly utterly necessary...

You start out deciding to tidy your room and you realize that in order to do that you'll need some more trash bags, so you need to go to the shops, which will involve you getting out the car, but the car needs gas, so you'll need to go to the gas station first, which means you should probably find your gas discount card, which involves finding your keys, which are in the room somewhere... ( )

And ultimately, in order to tidy your room, you somehow end up shaving a yak.

You know it's happened to you too!

Permalink: Yak_Shaving.html
Words: 134
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: work

10/02/08 07:43 - 45ºF - ID#45886

First!

I like being the first one in at work. No interruptions, a nice start to the morning.

That's all :)

Permalink: First_.html
Words: 19
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: economics

09/30/08 09:38 - 55ºF - ID#45858

ZOMG DOOOOMED

Actually, I am glad that the bailout failed. We'll now get a smaller, more incremental bailout. Rough ride for the next year though, no matter what.

Japan in the 90's went through a crisis very similar to ours, a huge asset bubble and then a giant markdown.

I get what the crisis is about - liquidity - but there's more then one way to solve it. If we prop up existing institutions no questions asked, we'll end up like Japan in the 90's, where zombie banks were technically fine but actually not able to loan much money anyways, thus dragging the crisis out into stagnation for a decade.

The current failed plan was to buy the bad assets at their original inflated values, sell them back to the market at a reduced rate, and use the funds from selling them to buy additional bad assets and repeat the process until all the money was totally gone. That is, if you believe the conference call that was held between the government representatives and Wall Street insiders ( mp3 torrent

), instead of what was said publicly.

Banks operate on the velocity of money. They take money in, send it out again. Don't think of them as repositories, but instead as intermediaries between those who need to hold cash and those who need to spend cash. The banking system is not set up for stasis.

The proposed plan would've increased the velocity of money. Something does need to be done, but jumping to the most drastic expensive plan doesn't sit right with me. I'm totally up for $500 billion worth of no interest loans, something along those lines.

But not recapitalization of the largest banks via burning down $700 billion. Plenty of smaller banks are doing fine. Those are the ones that should be getting help, to replace the large burdened banks. A new day on Wallstreet, slaughter of the behemoths is what sounds good to me.

If 10 years from now there are no familiar old names on Wallstreet, and a new crop of giants risen from the ashes of this meltdown, I'll be a happy camper.

tinypliny writes at 09:59:07 10/01/08 - Comment #39486: Again, a very interesting post and comments! Can you do a common-lingo post on what you think might be the repercussions of the 700bn bailout failing?

hodown writes at 02:17:27 09/30/08 - Comment #39387: I'm ok with the revamping of wall street just as long as I can keep my finance job (and all it's perks).

joshua writes at 01:26:53 09/30/08 - Comment #39382: With regard to your last paragraph - that is exactly what is going to happen, one way or another. After all, three of the five big banks in NY are already a part of history and the niche players are picking up the slack.

Most Americans are queasy about the bailout as is, so I agree that if it were structured via the implementation of loans it would be a better deal, zero-interest or not. Providing such a large amount of currency to flush the "illiquid" debt should be reward enough for these jackals. Regular folks have to eat a **** sandwich over this, so even if they decided to charge a modest interest rate loans are a reasonable idea. Where in the world could somebody possibly borrow that kind of money interest free anyway? If anybody can find out I would like them to point the US Government in that direction.

Many people are selling this plan as a bulwark against potential erosion of lending capability on the part of holding banks. What happens when we get put on the hook for this money and the banks lend to themselves but not the people? Paulson et. al. have been criticized for not being able to phrase this bailout in plain English, explaining the scenario and how it may affect life at home. People want to know if they will be able to get a car loan, and small businesses want to know if they can get bridge loans to meet payroll. We are being told that yes, this will loosen the chokehold on the credit market, but I am still skeptical about how that will shake out for regular people.

Interesting article today from a Harvard egghead, advocating for bankruptcy rather than a bailout. :::link:::

Permalink: ZOMG_DOOOOMED.html
Words: 355
Location: Buffalo, NY