Leanin'

[hookemnick.livejournal.com]

Tea Watermelon fruit drink & skittles

Comments

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry? And in what way am I playing "junior Klansman?"

[pacotelic.livejournal.com]

"...two of the ingredients. He didn't have time to ingest it yet."

Surely it was in his dusky nature to be hopped up on goofballs, menacing 2 society.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Not in his "dusky nature," no. More that he had a history of drug use, including Facebook messages and postings about codeine. It has nothing to do with his race.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

If that was his drug of choice for the evening, he should be mellowed on cartoons, not felonious assault-y.

It's one thing to be unaware of drug culture through apathy (as you state above). It's another to group all drug users as one step down the road to nihilistic abandon.

Such an assertion is likely to get you branded as just like the racists of yore who claimed that not-yet-illegalized marijuana was just as likely to make blacks both too lazy to work and too frenzied to stop them from raping white women. The path to such argumentation is identical.

You're losing cred fast, Jeff.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

I'm losing cred with you because you seem to have completely ignored my argument in favor of god knows what, as none of what you've seemingly attributed to me has anything to do with what I've actually said.

I'll worry about my credibility with people who can actually address a statement being made, as opposed to coming up with things out of nowhere as you've done.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Oh, trust me, I'm commenting directly upon your argument.

Accusing Martin of dabbling in drugs is absolutely not relevant to this case, even when the evidence is as slim as the OP presents. Dabblers in these drugs, for one thing, would not be aggressive under their influence, and they absolutely would never be "hooked" on such drugs no matter what the consumption level, so you can also abandon in advance the "withdrawal" argument. At best, a drug concocted with this silly mess of ingredients would give a mild rush to a user, followed by a pretty damn mean headache. In other words, it's the perfect mix for a teenager of any color, but one that presents a danger only to him or her self, not to society at large.

What you seem to miss more and more—and it's distressing to see an otherwise intelligent person miss the obvious like this—is that the arguments you are picking up from damn-knows-where and applying as if there were not some inherent racism baked into the DNA of said arguments is just dangerous, especially if you don't realize that fact. This inattention to origin detail simply lumps you with the pointy sheet and broken cross brigades.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Oh, trust me, I'm commenting directly upon your argument.

You're not, however, because you appear to be making entirely different observations than I am.

Accusing Martin of dabbling in drugs is absolutely not relevant to this case, even when the evidence is as slim as the OP presents.

As (http://politicartoons.livejournal.com/3781412.html?thread=85657380#t85657380) I've (http://politicartoons.livejournal.com/3781412.html?thread=85804068#t85804068) said (http://politicartoons.livejournal.com/3781412.html?thread=85788452#t85788452) many (http://politicartoons.livejournal.com/3781412.html?thread=85689124#t85689124), many (http://politicartoons.livejournal.com/3781412.html?thread=85711652#t85711652), many (http://politicartoons.livejournal.com/3781412.html?thread=85748260#t85748260) times (http://politicartoons.livejournal.com/3781412.html?thread=85691940#t85691940).

What you seem to miss more and more—and it's distressing to see an otherwise intelligent person miss the obvious like this—is that the arguments you are picking up from damn-knows-where and applying as if there were not some inherent racism baked into the DNA of said arguments is just dangerous, especially if you don't realize that fact. This inattention to origin detail simply lumps you with the pointy sheet and broken cross brigades.

I can't fix ignorant. If people are willing to ignore what I am saying in favor of their own ridiculous narratives, I'm not just going to keep my mouth shut in case I do get lumped in with someone I don't want to. God knows that standard doesn't apply to anyone else here, in any regard.

If people want to believe the charge has racism "baked into" the speculation, that's ultimately on them. Maybe they should start focusing more on the arguments being presented as opposed to the narratives they're desperate to advance.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

I waded through the first few of your "compelling" examples of your oh-so-not racist statements. You are saying, in essence, that TM's drug use, though not relevant to the case, was "a lot more complex," "legitimate and compelling," "giving a broader view," "worth mentioning," enough so that it does "a disservice to the greater discussion to ignore." Have I understood you thus far?

Here's the problem. Exactly this language is used to help "persuade" on all types of arguments when the evidence referenced by the phrasing has already been debunked and/or determined to be useless. I've seen this language used by people trying to dismiss the importance of global climate change, peak energy extraction, the effectiveness of truly progressive taxation (which we really haven't had in this country in decades).

"Oh, sure," they say, "that's the 'evidence,' I'll grant you that. But have you considered X? It really gives a broader view against that position."

And in your case, you are pushing exactly the narrative used to outlaw marijuana decades ago, that this or that substance makes young black men either lazy or crazy, so you can't just let them off the charges if you find this or that substance on them. The argument is not, as you say, "a lot more complex," "legitimate and compelling," "giving a broader view," "worth mentioning," enough so that it does "a disservice to the greater discussion to ignore." That's what I mean when I say "baked into" the argument. When you quote racists, expect accusations of racism.

I understand what you're trying to say completely. It's old, it's tired, and it's frankly beneath you.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

I understand what you're trying to say completely. It's old, it's tired, and it's frankly beneath you.

That you don't like it because others have used similar arguments against things you don't like is pretty weak sauce. You want to infer racism, I can't stop you. That's a lot crazier than anything I'm saying, though.

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

Now you're just sounding like a kid who shat in the punchbowl to be funny and is getting upset because nobody's laughing. It's very David Brent.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

Anything else you'd like to get off your chest?

[peristaltor.livejournal.com]

. . .

[dexeron.livejournal.com]

"I'm not just going to keep my mouth shut in case I do get lumped in with someone I don't want to. If people want to believe the charge of Obama being born in Kenya has racism "baked into" the speculation, that's ultimately on them. Maybe they should start focusing more on the arguments being presented as opposed to the narratives they're desperate to advance."

See how I slightly modified that? That's the same argument presented to me (STILL!) by folks who insist that they're not racist, but argue vehemently that the racist origins of the birther meme have nothing to do with THEIR birther beliefs. They're willing to handwave the origin of an idea if that idea ends up being convenient to their own preferred narrative. That just because an argument was birthed by racists as part of a racist narrative doesn't mean that they're not allowed to use that argument to support their own narratives.

That is what you appear to be saying on your own behalf, and I think you're better than that.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

That is what you appear to be saying on your own behalf, and I think you're better than that.

And you should know better, given what you do know, which is why I'm surprised you'd raise it anyway.