Stereotypes

Just what are stereotypes? One definition is "undesirable beliefs imposed to justify the acts of discrimination and oppression." Walter Lipman had this to say about stereotypes; "picture in our heads" saying "Whether right or wrong, ...imagination is shaped by the pictures seen... Consequently, they lead to stereotypes that are hard to shake."

The author of the blog post I link to below admits he stereotypes conservatives. He then goes on to explain:

Which is to say, I think conservatives all suck, and they seem to feel much the same towards us.

He immediately goes on to say:

But here's the thing: I have never in my life met or even heard of a single conservative who doesn't believe that it's okay to deny equal protection under the law

... He then proceeds to use the gay marriage debate to prove his quite valid (in my opinion) point.

But let's forget about gay marriage for a minute. How about AG Alberto Gonzales attempting to defend denying the Constitutionally guaranteed right to habeas corpus to certain individuals? The "equal protection" clause of the Constitution has never been a big favorite of conservatives because they don't want people "different" from them being treated equally under the law. I think you can provide many historical precedents that support this viewpoint. So is that stereotyping? In the 50's and 60's it was the blacks. Now it's the followers of Islam (and still the blacks).

Can you not argue that in recent years it has been conservatives that want to deny US citizens their rights and freedoms. Hey, if you haven't done anything wrong, then you have nothing to hide....right? The terrorists hate us for our freedoms. So to save us the conservatives want to take our freedoms away? No habeas corpus...the most basic freedom given to man since the Magna Carta?

Ok yeah, liberal want to use government to redistribute money...social security, medicare, medicaid, welfare and many other government sponsored programs. But conservatives want to use government to tell you how to live specifically. Who can marry who, how to use your body, how to act to best insure that you get to heaven, what constitutes valid anti-government protest, how not to be gay (unless you are a closeted republican). If you don't listen to them...you either aren't patriotic or worse, you are a traitor. At best you are anti-family values...because only conservatives know what is best for the family. A working father, a house wife mother, 2 kids in a nice home with 2 cars. You know, kinda like in the 50's.

One thing both liberals and conservatives can agree upon....since Google took it over, blogger really sucks!