SAT prep for potential candidates

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

QUESTION ONE:

"There are ______ good, decent, moral people in this country who do not yet embrace their gay brothers and sisters as full members of our shared community."

Fill in the blank. Which phrase would best render this statement inoffensive?

a) "A FEW OTHERWISE"
b) "ALMOST NO"
c) "PLENTY OF SELF-STYLED"
d) none, it is fine the way it is

QUESTION TWO:

"There are good, decent, moral people in this country who do not yet embrace _________ as full members of our shared community."

Fill in the blank. Which word(s) would render this statement offensive?

a) "AFRICAN-AMERICANS"
b) "JEWISH PEOPLE"
c) "GAY PEOPLE"
d) A and B, but not C
e) none. They are all offensive

Highlight below for answers:
If you are Senator Obama, the correct answer to each question is "D"


Further reading: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3710683&mesg_id=3710683

[NMMNG]

1. Very interesting

:thumbsup:

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

2. answer key added on edit

[NMMNG]

3. Heh heh

:evilgrin:

[Maven]

4. Excellent post.

K/R

[jonnyblitz]

5. k & r

:kick:

[closeupready]

6. Right? Unbelievable. And this is one of the DEMOCRATIC nominees.

I'm appalled.

[calteacherguy]

7. "Who do not yet."

it's fine the way it is.

Just because someone is good, decent, and moral does not mean they are perfect. Most of us here (according to a recent poll I posted) have family members who are good, decent and moral, but are (or were) prejudiced.

Get off your high horse.

[Basileus Basileon]

8. I would say that

prejudice and bigotry are incompatible with decency and morality. I have had relatives who are good and moral except for their bigotry--but I would not say that they are good and moral, all things considered.

[calteacherguy]

9. I have had relatives that are good and moral, all things considered.

And also prejudiced. That doesn't mean they would be violent or cruel...they were kind and gentle-hearted, but they were prejudiced to some extent.

It always saddened me, but I understood it and tried my best to enlighten them. But they came from another era. Prejudice is learned, and in that sense historical. It comes from a lack of certain experiences as well...interactions with people of many different stripes. May it one day become an entirely historical relic.

[Basileus Basileon]

10. "To some extent" renders the statement meaningless.

Just about everyone is bigoted "to some extent." When we say "That person is a bigot," we do not mean "Despite donating money to the NAACP, that person might subconsciously decide to choose the checkout line staffed by the white girl instead of the black guy."

[calteacherguy]

11. You are right, but I don't think it renders the statement meaningless.

When does "to some extent" become a bigot? It's a matter of opinion and perception.

[Basileus Basileon]

12. Certainly we can agree on that last part. Now, to bring it home.

We're both dancing around McClurkin here. We can both agree he's a bigot, I assume. I believe that while tendencies towards prejudices are natural, open defense and acceptance of one's own bigotry is incompatible with morality. One can be moral in all other regards, but I would not say an unapologetic bigot is a moral person.