October 10, 2003

We Have Nothing in Common with Them

I'm not entirely persuaded that it isn't a "troll" or a joke or something, but nevertheless, this post from the Democratic Underground forum cracks me up:

In order to win we must understand the way the average American thinks. I'm afraid WE have nothing in common with them.

I came to the two following conclusions when I saw the large number of people who voted for Bush back in 2000.

#1 - I would dare to assume that most of us here [on the DU board] are in the upper 1%-20% of the population intelligence-wise.

We must come to the realization that the majority of the population is in the lower 80% to 99% percent of the bell-curve.

WE are not the norm. The Republicans understand that the average American is not very bright. They cater and pander to the masses. The Democratic Party tries to appeal to the population about "issues" that these people just don't understand...

In addition, people of average or lower intelligence tend to not be as logical or reasoned as those of higher intelligence - they deal with emotion. Therefore they are more likely to get riled up about someone burning a flag rather than a illogical tax cut.


Later on in the thread, the same poster gets down to specifics ("we must tell Dean, Clark and the other candidates to dumb down") but cautions: "we don't need to broadcast this-- just keep it in mind."

Pass it on.

(via Taranto.)

UPDATE: I know it's an easy laugh, and it's hard to be absolutely certain whether or not your leg is being pulled in this situation, but I can't resist quoting one more. Here's a response to the post quoted above, with the caption "How Right You Are." The author sees a troubling future, where the maroons continue to multiply, becoming unmanageable and leaving the geniuses isolated and in need of their own homeland:

We have very little in common with average idiot on the street. To them we might as well be from another planet. Pandering to the masses is going to take some time, do we have that much time left in this country? I am doubtful, look at what just happened in CA.

Is it about time we start looking for a state, country or someplace on earth where like minded (or open minded) people can live in relative peace and contentment? The dumbing down of the american individual continues, and we will be amoung it's first victums as we become more and more isolated from the general population.

Hail Open-Mindia!

ANOTHER UPDATE: In the comments, Spacetoast points out this article about a plan to establish a Libertarian Open-mindia in New Hampshire. (Or maybe that should be Fire-armia?) Live free or die, baby.

Here's a followup DU thread of reactions to the fact that the original post had been quoted in the Wall Street Journal's weblog. Certainly, as many posters complain, Taranto took the quote "out of context" in a sense, linking to the thread, but failing to mention that many of the DU commenters challenged the "Geniuses R Us" premise. And, indeed, many of the commenters did.

As well they might. One rarely encounters such a perfectly, obviously self-refuting utterance, along the lines of "I is real gud at gramer and spellen." That's why I suspected it might be fabricated flame-bait in the first place. However, as Michael Totten points out in the comments, many people really do think that way when they're young and dumb. I know I did. And many of the commenters did chime in in support of the "Normal People are way too Stupid to See how much Better than them We Are" ethos, even while a few of them warned that it might be best not to mention it too often if you're interested in securing much of the Idiot vote. (A couple of classics from the followup thread: "I admit we sometimes do overestimate our own intelligence, but even by the most conservative estimates we still are superior to the right wing neanderthals..." "I, for one, am not ashamed to be intelligent and I refuse to allow them to insist that I be dumb like they are... I will not become intellectually lazy and hateful and uncaring like this trash insists I become.")

Best of the Web is as partisan as they come, and in fact Taranto comes up with stuff every now and then that is every bit as silly as the other stuff he ridicules, often in the same item. In terms of raw, insensate partisanship, Taranto and the DU types are often pretty much in the same boat, though Taranto (mercifully) is able to write in complete, clear sentences, and is often quite (intentionally) funny. At the risk of revealing my own shallowness, I'll admit that usually is enough for me. But Lord knows the intended implication of his post probably was in the end that all "liberals" are stuck-up poseurs who like to imagine that mental deficiency is the only possible explanation when anyone disagrees with them. That contention (if it's there) isn't even worth wasting a single pixel to refute, though it's undeniable that such folks exist even if they're not "representative." I have no doubt that they're right that you could find posts every bit as silly on Free Republic. However, the DU folks are nevertheless still missing the point about that particular entry, which is that, "unfair" or not, in context or out, unrepresentative though it may be, it's still freakin' hilarious.

Plus, I learned a new word: up with sheeple.

Posted by Dr. Frank at October 10, 2003 10:34 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Ugh. I couldn't even laugh. Too real. And probably too real to be true (one would hope).

Dave

Posted by: Dave at October 11, 2003 04:01 AM

Remind the voters that their knuckles must not drag as they approach the polls, for such is the mark of the bad people.

Posted by: Joe Mama at October 11, 2003 04:16 AM

"...the majority of the population is in the lower 80% to 99% percent of the bell-curve."

analytic or synthetic truth?

Posted by: spacetoast at October 11, 2003 06:11 AM

Hmm...who among the disproportionately intelligent will stoop to assume the menial task of trash pickup in Open-Mindia?

Will they pool their gigantic crania and come up with a sophisticated technology that will eliminate such a lowly job?

If so, they could start today and do it here -- thereby making themselves useful to society.

Posted by: JB at October 11, 2003 07:53 AM

Late in the kook game...

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/10/01/free.state.ap/index.html

Posted by: spacetoast at October 11, 2003 05:52 PM

There was a time when I was younger and dumber when I could have written that. Frank, it's probably real. And written by someone younger and dumber than me.

Posted by: Michael J. Totten at October 11, 2003 06:53 PM

Everyone knows that's what illegal immigrants are for JB. And they don't get to vote, so the their stupidity is kept away from the ballot box.

(Which brings up a serious point: Remember when Bush wanted to wave a magic wand over all the illegal immigrants and make them citizens? There are lots of reasons for a politician potentially wanting to do so: increased tax revenue, making people who would otherwise be regular US citizens, ummm, regular US citizens instead of criminals, and creating, oh, a few million new voters who would be indebted to you. But, dang...)

Posted by: Dave at October 11, 2003 11:00 PM

I didn't even consider that, Dave.

How does one reconcile Open-Mindian progressivism, which typically drools over issues such as bilingual education and illegal immigrant rights with intellectual elitism? If you allow in illegals to do the dirty work, don'tcha have to allow them full civil rights and all that good stuff? The alternative is very Closed-Mindian to say the least.

Methinks they really haven't though this through, or would special-plead their way out of it.

Posted by: JB at October 12, 2003 03:33 AM

reminds me of the twit at the NY Times in 1972 saying "How could Nixon win? No one I know voted for him."

& yes I remember that... being heavily self-medicated in the 70s & 80s didn't effect my memory.

what were we talking about?

Posted by: Rob at October 13, 2003 02:06 PM

Well, JB, there is that problem with the fact that basic civil rights are supposed to only be extended to US citizens.

But you have to ask yourself this question: we know where the illegal immigrants are, and they are ILLEGAL, why aren't we taking a harder stance against this? I mean, there has to be reason.

But we couldn't just let them stay so they can work here, do jobs we don't wanna do, and then NOT extend them some basic civil rights. That would be rather hypocritical of us wouldn't it?

Well, now that I'm pretty far off the subject, I'll just say that I don't care one way or the other. Deport, make citizens or extend some sort of second-class citizenship where you get some basic civil rights, but how about enough of this looking the other way?

Posted by: Dave at October 15, 2003 05:53 PM

From the Island of Dr. Moreau:
"The law says: Vote Democrat. Are we not men?"

Posted by: Mitch at October 16, 2003 07:42 PM

I'd like to write a rebuttal of this but my crayon keeps smudging on the screen.

Posted by: Peter at October 16, 2003 10:44 PM

The really weird part is the Arts & Letters Daily links to a Mother Jones commentary that says pretty much the same thing, only with better spelling and grammar. The gist of it is that blue-collar guys ("Nascar Dads") are too stupid to see thru GWB's trickery, that the Iraq war is a feel-good exercise, etc. Amazing how much contempt the leftists have for ordinary people. Has it occurred to them that this has a rather limited appeal to the voters?

Posted by: Mitch at October 16, 2003 11:11 PM
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