You STILL Can't Argue with Stupid

[NanceGreggs]

You STILL Can’t Argue With Stupid
By Nancy Greggs

Well, I’ve said it before – and I’ll say it again. You can’t argue with Stupid. And we all know who Stupid is.

He’s posting on websites about the necessity of war from the safety of his mother’s basement. He is always in a state of furor over the fact that the other guy isn’t in Iraq fightin’ the good fight. He’d be there himself, but like his heroes, he has other priorities – like not leaving his neighborhood hockey team short a cheerleader when there’s a big game coming up next Tuesday.

He spends an inordinate amount of time hiding under his bed, because he knows those Islamofascists he’s heard about on FOX-News are undoubtedly headed to his little neck of the woods (Little Neck O’ The Woods: Population 14), to wreak their havoc right in the middle of the sidewalk sale at the local strip-mall, waving counterfeit Chick-Fil-A coupons around in an obvious attempt to undermine the American economy.

Of course, Stupid is just a product of the world in which he lives. He listens to the Professional Stupids on the radio and TV – like the right-wing pundit who thinks his job description includes outing a covert CIA agent in what passes for 'journalism' in the rag that prints his columns, or the PNACer pressing the meat with those liberal media types, explaining how things are going so swimmingly in Iraq, we might as well attack Iran while we’re on a roll. ("I'm telling you, we'll be greeted as liberators, with sweets and flowers! And THIS time, I ain't kiddin'!")

When people talk about the rights that have gone down the toilet thanks to the Bush administration, Stupid doesn’t understand what they’re talking about. “What rights? What freedoms?”

You see, Stupid doesn’t get it. He thinks habeas corpus is a hip-hop band out of Chicago, and he doesn’t listen to that crap (especially since Rush Limbaugh told him that HC once opened for the Dixie Chicks). As for having his phone tapped and his mail read, Stupid doesn’t have a problem with that – because he’s got nuthin’ to hide. Stupid doesn’t care if Agent Mike is tracking what websites he goes to (unless, of course, Agent Mike tells his mother how many times he’d logged-on to Topless Co-eds Gone Wild, in which case he might be tempted to rethink his position).

As far as Stupid is concerned, as long as he doesn’t care that his rights are being violated, that means nobody’s rights are being violated – because who’s more important than Stupid, when all is said and done?

Of course, when Bush or anyone else in his administration refuse to turn over emails, documents, etc., Stupid never makes the connection with the concept of innocent people having nuthin’ to hide. Stupid firmly believes that if George W. Bush has something to hide, it’s because Jesus specifically told him to hide it – an invocation of Savior-Client privilege, if you will.

And speaking of Jesus, there’s another topic that Stupid will tell you about at length. You see, apparently the Prince of Peace is no longer in effect, and real Christians have moved on from that ol' New Testament guy they once revered. As far as Stupid is concerned, there’s a new Jesus in town – and he’s packin’. He’s about to premiere his Second Coming with guns a’blazin’, going after homosexuals and abortionists et al. In other words, Jesus is coming back to set the record straight – having obviously forgotten to condemn gays and abortion the first time around.

Like I said, you can’t argue with Stupid, because he knows he’s right.

He knows the economy is going great, and if the hard numbers don’t mesh with that idea, it’s just because those Liberal bean-counters are trying to pull a fast one.

He knows that victory in Iraq is just around the next corner, and all those stories of death and destruction are propaganda perpetrated by a few million Iraqis who have nothing better to do but whine about the state of their country.

He knows that his job is secure, because the guy who owns the company he works for is a Bush-supporting real American, who would never relocate the plant to a cheaper labor market for the sake of a few bucks.

He knows that the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are having the time of their lives, regardless of how long they have to stay there. He knows that those news items about returning vets getting the shaft when they need medical attention and rehab are just nonsense, because his Support the Troops party would never ignore the plight of our fightin’ men and women, any more than they would ignore the plight of little kids who don’t have any access to healthcare.

No, you can’t argue with Stupid. He’s got the whole thing sussed out, and he’s never met a fact he can’t totally ignore.

[Yael]

1. You, my sister, are the best. Bar none.

...especially since Rush Limbaugh told him that HC once opened for the Dixie Chicks

Diet Coke. Nose. Pain. Worth it.

:rofl:

[denem]

4. I love the "I'm with Stupid" Pet Shop Boys song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q32JAfaEPbk

[southerncrone]

2. So true. Trouble is, the Stupid's out-number the rest of us & their #'s increase daily.

[unpossibles]

11. I'm not so sure

they just pretend to outnumber us because they have professional PR(opaganda) people pushing their cause.

[southerncrone]

16. I hope you are correct about that!

Or may be Stupid is just so shiny, you just can't miss it!

[unpossibles]

20. exactly. They are loud and (unfortunately) very visible in the public arena

Sure, there are a lot of uninformed voters out there, but I don't think they are in the majority. My main reasoning is that it is why the Republicans make such a point of denying people the right to vote, to have their vote counted, and just the general discouragement from voting (the "they're all the same so why bother" meme). They are afraid of what would happen if they encouraged people to vote, and sadly it works a bit too well.

[PDJane]

3. I met that guy.........

this week, in the Eaton's Centre. He slipped north for some reason....with his kids and his wife, and likely his girlfriend. He was really annoyed that the Canadian dollar was above par...seemed to think that was really unfair.

He was really steamed when I told him there should be a global one-child policy, and no, I didn't think it would be a good idea to join the United States.

In fact, he was so steamed that he was making no sense that I could discern. But his face was red, and his fists were clenched. :eyes:

[panader0]

5. Always a pleasure Nance.......

I never pass up a thread with your name on it. I've got a lot of stupids around here, and youa re right, you can't argue with them. "There is none so blind as he who will not see."

[RebelSansCause]

6. now that is incredible

an innovation of Savior-Client privilege if you will, now that is classic. kinda like the quote about christmas i saw on DU the other day. sorry i dont know who it was. "The War on Christmas is a quagmire. We need the Surge on Christmas this year." but still, so completely and totally true. i loved it. they do breed like bunnies tho, *le sigh* i wonder. here is a good question. is ignorance bliss? of course it's impossible to answer. but with all the Stupid's out there, i think we can empirically state that ignorance is bliss. they don't get depressed every single time they open the newspaper, now do they?

[unpossibles]

12. they don't open newspapers

generally. Unless they're told to.

[truedelphi]

7. Nope you sure cannot argue with Stupid.

Escpecially on the Jesus thing.
Nance You say
And speaking of Jesus, there’s another topic that Stupid will tell you about at length. You see, apparently the Prince of Peace is no longer in effect, and real Christians have moved on from that ol' New Testament guy they once revered. As far as Stupid is concerned, there’s a new Jesus in town – and he’s packin’. He’s about to premiere his Second Coming with guns a’blazin’, going after homosexuals and abortionists et al. In other words, Jesus is coming back to set the record straight – having obviously forgotten to condemn gays and abortion the first time around.

How can you argue? If you do, you are just told that you won't be among the raptured.

The fifteen year old that I tutor has a "Since you're about to be raptured, can you leave me your sports car?" sticker on her math notebook.

[ladym55]

8. Wow! I know Stupid

And his wife, his children, his cousins .... and many of his friends.

Hmm. Maybe I should consider relocating .... :eyes:

[mrcheerful]

9. What gets me about stupid is how stupid can't seem to reason anything out.

Take the abortion thing, why would stupid worry about someone he isn't related to, has never met and will never meet getting rid of a child that he doesn't want tax dollars spent on? Yet he also knows the end is near, so just in case that turns out to be another false alarm, you know like the terror alert color code, he wants to put someone elses house in order so he can get the god pat on the head award. But then when your stupid you also aren't smart enough to understand your not perfect, remember stupid believes he can build a perfect world, but in the end its just a world of stupid people just as stupid as he is.

[madamesilverspurs]

10. I'm working on a theory about Stupid.

It has to do, in part, with the effects of oxygen deprivation. In this case, when he was baptized into the farRight they deliberately held him under in the sacramental koolaid, and when he surfaced gasping for air he inhaled a conveniently placed Rush of very hot air. Further, said koolaid had been infused with a heavy dose of Coulterspit that left his skin hypersensitive to the light of truth, hence his preference for a basement illuminated by a single 40 watt bulb which, oddly, flickers into darkness in the presence of pretzels. For six days doth he labor against the depredations of those who would tempt him to reality. On the seventh day he resteth, right after cleaning his King James AK-47.

[unpossibles]

13. great post, and you are so right

on the other hand, sometimes I love arguing with stupid. I know it's a fault of mine, but it feels so good to hear their little forehead veins popping in the distance.

But you're right. They are seemingly impervious to facts and will quickly reduce any conversation to slime. On the other hand, the handful of undecided non-stupids who also read said argument can come away with more knowledge and respect for reality if you keep your cool.

[Dr.Phool]

14. Question? If Stoopid and his wife get a divorce,

Are they still brother and sister? Or cousins?

[Tsiyu]

15. Okay Jeem, here goes

And Nance, I love you and hope you don't mind.

I promised my dear new friend 'Jeem' that I would write about him on my "Manifesto" ( as he called it) tonight, so I am adding this to my journal.

But, this is crazy, Nance, because it is just like the conversation he and I had this evening and I simply have to respond while keeping my promise.

(Jeem, you will have to hit "Discuss" to read Nance's excellent new rant that pretty much describes a lot of our conversation tonight and why I looked at you so funny when you said certain things.)

To your credit, Jeem, you didn't shove Jesus down my throat, I quoted the Bible liberally while you left religion out of the discussion.

And also, to be fair, you believe a woman has a right to choose... up to a point, if I heard you correctly.

But Jeem, even though you said a lot of things that Nance and I agree are pretty damned stupid, I want you to know I really don't think you are stupid. I think you are an amazing person with a lot of talent who just doesn't know enough about what's going on to make the claims you make.

I think you want to do the right thing. I believe that you really do love your country and you are fed up with lazy people. But remember when you said - after I said the economy was tanking - that "You liberals always see the glass as half empty?"

I could say the same about you in the way you view other human beings.

You see the worst while I see the best. You see all the lazy people wanting a government handout while I work alongside and live alongside people working their asses off to put food on the table.

You see all the Arab and Persian people you believe want to turn the world Muslim; I see all the Arab and Persian people who merely want to raise their families and go to school and live their lives free of violence and war and American greed. Or Saudi greed. Or any rampant greed.

You see all of your taxes sent directly to one welfare recipient, enabling a lazy person to continue in their laziness while I see my taxes divided up between all sorts of people and projects, benefiting us all.

If i could say one thing that might help you see the light it would be:

Turn off the TV and the talk radio and circulate among more people and discuss more and think for yourself. And get a damned Internet connection!

You asked me to provide you with proof about PNAC and other issues ("liberal judges" etc.) and that I will do.

And that alone tells me that you really do want to know the truth, or at least that you want the chance to examine the evidence. That's not stupid.



And Nance, I understand your frustration and why you wrote what you wrote. The discussion between Jeem and I got very heated. However, merely chalking his sentiments and opinions up to "stupidity" - as satisfying as that might feel at the time - is simplistic and wouldn't have led him to say "Show me your proof."

And he wasn't just asking for evidence so he could readily discount it (Although he dismissed the internet as being the domain of the "unnamed source" which was kind of funny the way he put it. Still, I believe he will enjoy it immensely and learn much once he's hooked up - hopefully soon.) I truly believe, from the look in his eyes, that he does want to know why I feel the way I do; he does want proof of my claims and he will consider them - even if only briefly.

I could say our argument went nowhere, but the only argument that goes nowhere is the one that never happens. We will both be thinking about the things the other person said, even if only to puzzle over why another adult can think so differently from another.

If we say "it's not worth it" every time we are confronted with the 25%ers we miss the opportunity to be authentic, to say what we really mean. We can't blame our own complacence on someone else's "stupidity."

I actually enjoy a good argument with a Koolaid drinker. It helps me see what is working from the media standpoint and it helps the thirsty one get used to liberal ideas: spoken out loud.

So maybe you can't exactly win an argument with Rightie tighties, but you can damned sure still give them food for thought.

And they might even want to continue the discussion later...


(This from a person who used to avoid being in the same room with those I considered "stupid" before.)

Keep on arguing, is all I'm saying. No matter how pointless it may seem. You never know when somebody might wake up because of something you say...

:hi:

[tomreedtoon]

17. Why did you leave Stupid behind?

It was the job of educators, intellectuals and commentators to teach Stupid about America. To teach about how the Bill of Rights and the Constitution were important, about how to be a good citizen and how to be responsible to other citizens and all the rest.

But everyone on the left, and in the Democratic Party, ignored Stupid. They turned out the lights on Stupid and read their Gore Vidal book reviews. And Stupid bred in the darkness.

Now you're faced with an army of Stupids and you can't understand why Stupid hates you, and why you can't get enough people to out-vote all the Stupids. And so you get bitter and say "F you, Stupid!"

And you don't realize that hatred is going to make even more Stupids out there in the dark.

Maybe if you exerted some of that much-vaunted humanity and tried to understand Stupid and why he's so mad at you, instead of mouthing cliches and spitting venom, maybe Stupid might be encouraged to become Non-stupid.

And maybe the inevitable loss of whoever gets the Democratic nomination might be averted. Some year, but not in 2008, because you're still slapping the Stupid label on a whole lot of people.

NOTE: I just got slapped down by a lot of people who can't understand why we people who will never, ever own homes can't shed a tear over those people losing their million-dollar homes. My contempt for the rich can't be excused here on DU. So why should this contempt for the presumably Stupid - a far more racist and bitter attitude - get a pass on DU?

[NanceGreggs]

30. I don't hate Stupid - nor am I 'spitting venom' ...

I feel sorry for Stupid, hopelessly trapped in a narrow little world where what he's told to believe and the realities of the world he lives in are often completely at odds with each other.

I am not 'slapping a label' of stupidity on anyone either. If you choose to be stupid and ill-informed (when information is more readily available than ever before in history), you are who you are - whether anyone calls you by that name or not.

I don't have to ask Stupid why he hates me. He hates me because he's been told that liberals are evil, godless people who are out to 'turn' straight people into homosexuals, put drive-through abortion clinics on every corner, and dismantle the military in order to make it easier for 'terrorists' to turn the country into an 'Islamofascist' state. And of course, Stupid can't be bothered to look into the alleged facts that are the basis for these allegations; he just accepts them without question or discussion.

You can't argue with Stupid's perception, because he doesn't want to listen to facts. You can't even offer Stupid the better life he and his family would have with universal healthcare in place, because he KNOWS you're trying to trick him into accepting Communism as a replacement for democracy.

Democrats have never left Stupid behind - he has chosen to stay behind. He has chosen to put his fingers in his ears; he has chosen to never look beyond the words of the politicians and pundits he admires. He has chosen to never acknowledge the obvious disconnect between what people like Bush promise and what they actually deliver. Stupid looks at the national debt and STILL refers to the GOP as the 'party of fiscal responsibility'.

I gleaned the info for this post by reading discussions on RW websites and message-boards. As just one example of Stupid's mindset: "Bill Kristol says we should invade Iran, and he's always right about these things." Of course, Stupid doesn't bother with the FACT that Kristol has been dead wrong about everything re Iraq since before we ever invaded, and CONTINUES to be wrong with every prediction.

THAT is what I mean by Stupid, and THAT is why you can't argue with him - ever.

As for my 'racist and bitter attitude', I am neither - and how racism has anything to do with my OP is totally beyond me.

As for:

NOTE: I just got slapped down by a lot of people who can't understand why we people who will never, ever own homes can't shed a tear over those people losing their million-dollar homes. My contempt for the rich can't be excused here on DU. So why should this contempt for the presumably Stupid - a far more racist and bitter attitude - get a pass on DU?"

That explains a lot. Apparently you got shot down on another thread for YOUR OWN bitter attitude, so you're projecting it onto others.

Not feeling any empathy for those who have more than you, or better homes, or anything else you don't have -- well, that's pretty bitter. I sincerely hope you find a way to get past that way of thinking, because the only person it hurts is yourself.

[tomreedtoon]

32. Ever read the book "Inferno" by Niven and Pournelle?

It was a science fiction/fantasy novel, where a sci-fi writer gets drunk, falls off a balcony, dies and winds up in a modern Dante's Inferno. Among the people he encounters in his journey to the center of Hell is his old school teacher.
She wound up there because she diagnosed some of her students as dyslexic. As she explained, dyslexia means you can never, ever learn how to read. A person with such a diagnosis is locked out of all future learning. By damning those children to a life of inferiority, she was practicing witchcraft, and thus will spend eternity in the tenth bolgia.

Basically, you defined the "Stoopid" as dyslexic human beings, who can never learn the truth. You were practicing political witchcraft.

As long as progressive ideas are communicated under the basis of "You're Stoopid and I'm not," those ideas will be rejected.

[NanceGreggs]

33. Again you blame me, or people like me ...

... for the deliberate stupidity of others.

I didn't diagnose the stupidity; I merely commented on it.

The intelligent person says, "I hear your ideas. I have considered them, and found them wanting."

The stupid person says, "If you don't agree with me, then you should shut up. I am not interested in anything you have to say."

There is a difference, you know. The fact that Bush (along with his party and his policies) have approval ratings that have plummeted over the past few years is a direct reflection of the fact that just because you're a Republican, that doesn't make you automatically stupid. A lot of people who still adhere to conservative ideals recognized that this administration talks about things like fiscal responsibility and moral values, but in fact practice neither.

Stupid is the guy whose ONLY criteria for being right or wrong, credible or to be dismissed out-of-hand, is having an (R) or a (D) after one's name. And whatever you do, don't bring up things like facts or statistics to make your point -- because Stupid knows that none of those people who read Gore Vidal can be trusted.

[tomreedtoon]

34. Still don't understand, do you? You were supposed to educate the Stoopids.

But you gave up on them. You and the educators, the intellectuals, the policymakers. Who cares about them, you said? They're Stoopid. So you turned your backs on their needs, and published witty essays in the New York Times Review of Books.

Well, the Republicans saw the Stoopids, and although they cared even less about them, they knew how to get the Stoopids to vote for them. They were just as willing to plunge knives into their backs, but at least they gave them a warm handshake first. They said nice things about the God of the Stoopids. They didn't do anything about their pain, but they "felt" the Stoopids' pain, which is more than Democrats did.

As a result, that vast army of Stoopids that you wrote off are dissatisfied with the Republicans, but there's no way in hell they'll vote Democratic, because you've made it abundantly clear that you hate the Stoopids.

It's the classism, elitism and racism that's reared back to bite Democrats. And yes, racism too, because the majority of the Stoopids are white. And it will probably take another generation - if we still have one - for people of progressive ideas to convince the Stoopids that they are not their mortal enemies.

[NanceGreggs]

35. Okey-dokey ...

... so now I'm prejudiced against white people, because the "majority of Stupids are white". Mm hmm. No racism in that comment.

"They were just as willing to plunge knives into their backs, but at least they gave them a warm handshake first. They said nice things about the God of the Stoopids. They didn't do anything about their pain, but they 'felt' the Stoopids' pain, which is more than Democrats did."

Yeah, NOW I get it. The Democrats should have been the ones to give 'em a warm handshake before stabbing them in the back? The Republicans pretended to feel Stupid's pain, when it should have been the Democrats who feigned empathy?

Thanks for making my point for me. The only way to get Stupid to vote for you is to promise him a GENTLER, KINDER back-stabbing than the GOP offers.

And Stupid is going to fall for that ...

Uh, sorry for saying so, but isn't THAT part of what makes him Stupid?

[MadMaddie]

36. You are placing all of the burden on Thinking Liberals to educate

the masses....to force them to think and question those who lead them.

Nance is right....replace Stupid with Neocon....what's the difference nothing. They are Americans and they have access to libraries, travel across the country, meet new people and cultures. They deliberately choose not to search out those things that might open their minds.

When we warned them that Iraq would be a disaster and laid the proof in front of their eyes...is it our fault they choose to raise the Salute to Herr * and look the other way....?

When the elections were stolen by cheating (because they couldn't win fairly) we were told to shut up and trust the machines, because surely the machines can't make mistakes.

When the Dixie Chicks stood up and exercised their Freedom of Speech..the entire Neocon world turned their backs on the Dixie Chicks and tried to destroy their careers.

The Dixie Chicks were right, we were right on the War, and Nance is right now.

Don't make excuses for them, they do not deserve it. They willingly acted the Part of the Good Germans while others suffered. Maybe one day they will see the light and ask God for forgiveness for trying to destroy America and their fellow Americans.

[cornermouse]

18. Dear Nance.

I live in Little Neck O' the Woods, population 14. I agree there are some stupids here but there are also some who aren't.

[NanceGreggs]

25. I hope you didn't infer that I was saying ...

... people from small towns tend to be stupid (I wasn't).

But I do laugh at people from tiny rural towns who think that while the WTC in NYC was first on the list of places to be hit by terrorists, the obvious second target will be the Podunk General Store.

[cornermouse]

28. Nance, I'll agree that they are more likely to hit NYC or

someplace big and congested like that. More confusion, death, and destruction for the buck, but there are other reasons for them to want to hit what you call Podunk City.

But thank you for not thinking everyone's low IQ around here. There are some who do.

[cleveramerican]

19. Stupid is easy.

It requires no heavy lifting.
It doesn't keep you up nights worrying.
Its comfortable.
The ease of stupid is the key to its allure.


My old Granny told me when I was young;
"Never trust a person who's sure they're right about everything"

I guess stupid never got that message.
I guess stupid didn't have my Granny.

[Dollface]

24. Stupid is also a time saver. At least a couple hours on weekdays and even more on weekends.

[GTurck]

21. I love

your writing. Thanks for saying what I cannot.

[The Wizard]

22. Some points

Link to naked co-eds for the freepers who lurk here.
http://www.naughtylittlecoeds.com/Girls_Gone_Wild.html
His/her job is secure so long as working for the minimum wage doing thoughtless tasks is acceptable.
Stupid believes all republicans are linked directly to heaven and all Democrats are Satan's spawn.
If Stupid saw the pictures of Bush and Cheney eating a barbqued fetus on a kabob he/she would just think they were very hungry.
Unfortunately, Stupid's vote counts as much as anyone else's.
Nietzsche was right.
And the icing on the cake: Stupid is probably swigging Jack Daniels, talking on the cell phone, while driving a flag festooned SUV down the highway at 90 MPH.

[TygrBright]

23. Nance, I only take issue with one tiny bit of your stellar (as usual) rant...

>>He knows that his job is secure, because the guy who owns the company he works for is a Bush-supporting real American, who would never relocate the plant to a cheaper labor market for the sake of a few bucks.<<

Nuh-uh. Stupid ain't got a job, yanno, because those Amurka-Hating Libruls let in a buncha beaners to take it! They'll work for the construction company Stupid used to work for (summers, anyway) for half of what Stupid useta make, which wasn't much to start with, because Stupid din't buleev in them damn' Unions and worked for a non-Union shop.

explanatorially,
Bright

[NanceGreggs]

26. You're undoubtedly right about that.

I gleaned the info for this post by browsing various RW-type websites.

Thing is that to hear them tell it, NOBODY is out of work as a result of this administration: no layoffs, no downsizing, no outsourcing. According to the posters, everybody is doing well under Bush - and those liberals who go on and on about these things are all liars.

I have no doubt that those who ARE out of work, or have had other financial setbacks such as losses on investments, etc., simply won't admit to it - even given the anonymity of a username on a message board.

[Uncle Joe]

27. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, NancyGreggs.:thumbsup:

[ElboRuum]

29. One day...

I shall write as well as thee.

So help me, as Dog as my witness, I shall.

[JeffR]

31. And Stupid wants everyone else to be stupid too

and everyone smarter than Stupid, which is most people, can just shut up.