In view of the ongoing debate between anti-fascists and Trumpist apologists, collaborators and appeasers ; this letter from German Lutheran theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) who was hanged by the Nazis for his involvement in a plot against Hitler, might shed some light on the issue :
” Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and , if need be, prevented by use of force.
Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless.
Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not to be believed – in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for when dealing with a stupid person than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.”
There is nothing more frightening than ignorance in action.
It takes a lot of gall, Fred,to compare your own mindless, self-righteous, and perfectly safe blogging about some statues 800 miles away to the example of Dietrich Boenhoffer.
The only way to kill a man, a nation or an idea is to kill the dream that inspired it. The racist dream was, and is, to perpetuate white supremacy as memorialized in their Confederate statues. Which, by the way, their own traitor Saint Robert of Lee, said should be banned !
That’s not what he said, but I would object to his implication that there are “Trumpist apologists, collaborators and appeasers” here (which I take to be on BMG).
There is one self-professed Donald Trump voter here (edgarthearmenaian).
There is at least one other participants whose arguments are indistinguishable from those of Mr. Trump (or, for that matter, Rush Limbaugh), and who defends those who voted for Mr. Trump at every opportunity.
Tom, aren’t you a self-professed Hillary voter? With that on your conscience, if you have one, how dare you criticize anyone else who voted for Trump? You have no idea of my background, for if you did you would not be so self-righteous all the time. The really sad part of this contempt which you have towards me is the fact that I agree with you on many issues such as Single Payer and decent wages for the working people, a higher minimum wage, etc. As I have said from day one, I am not nor have I been a Republican. I am a Truman Democrat. And by the way, he is the Democrat who did not inter Japanese but the president who integrated the Armed Services and took on the Southern racists in the `1948 election.
Whew. Such a thin skin!
First, I absolutely, categorically, and proudly proclaim that I voted for Hillary Clinton, I worked for her, and I’m quite certain that we would not be in the midst of the multiple crises that now beset us had she been elected. It doesn’t seem that you feel the same about your vote for Mr. Trump.
Christopher made a simple observation: “I would object to his implication that there are “Trumpist apologists, collaborators and appeasers” here (which I take to be on BMG).”
I made no characterization of you or your politics, I wrote only that you have shared here that you voted for Mr. Trump. In case anyone else has forgotten, I’m referring to comments like this (emphasis mine):
In this case, there is no need to further characterize this comment, it stands on its own.
While you and the handful of commentators that you consistently uprate claim to support “single payer, decent wages for the working people, a higher minimum wage, etc”, the content of your commentary here is overwhelmingly hostile to the values that produce those policies and the people here who promote them.
The fact that you write that supporting Ms. Clinton is something to be ashamed of exemplifies what I mean.
You have written enough here at BMG that regular readers can make a reasonably accurate assessment your worldview based on your commentary here. The same is true of me. I happily proclaim myself a Hillary Clinton voter and supporter. It doesn’t sound as though you feel the same about your vote for Mr. Trump.
That speaks volumes to one of the more fundamental distinctions between Mr. Trump, Mr. Clinton, and the supporters of each.
I stand by what i wrote. Seriojusly, Tom, you have to stop using this racism/misogynist card to make excuses for the election loss. I know that it hurts you to admit, but Hillary was probably the worst candidate ever put forth by the democrats. And she is innately deplorable to most of us in the working class. As i remember, you grew up in a comfortable middle class suburb in Maryland, far from those of us who actually had to work to make an honest living.
@ I stand by what I wrote:
Fair enough. Our respective positions are, I think, crystal clear.
FWIW, I grew up in exactly the kind of working-class home that you claim to support — three (small) bedrooms, one bathroom, one tiny kitchen, one car, and one breadwinner (my father) during my early years.
The effect of your vote for Mr. Trump is to hurt EVERY American, and especially working-class voters. All your sexist lies about Ms. Clinton and all your other hostility towards everyone except white males like yourself cannot obscure the outcome of your stance.
YOU, and voters like you, have put an unstable, brutal, ignorant, and incompetent in the Oval Office.
The blood of the world is on your hands.
The professional class of the party, the believers in the meritocracy, have no other choice than to blame racism/misogyny/white males as the enemy. They can’t blame the system, the status quo because they cite the same system/status quo to justify the fact that they make twice the income of non-college degree working class people.
They are well off because, as they explain, they “worked hard’ and got a degree. Their remedy for the working class that is struggling is to “work hard and get a degree’ and to add that it’s racist an misogynists that are behind the poorly paid plight of the non college degree working class.
It’s why they have a difficult time seriously attacking Wall Street because the Wall Street folks use the same argument to support their wealth, “Hey, we worked hard!”
That explains why the professional class of the party had no problem with our last nominee for the presidency playing footsie with Wall Street. She worked hard to get where she was and the Wall Street people in attendance paying $225,000 to hear her worked hard to get to where they were.
In summation, the well off professional class of the party needs a scapegoat to blame the condition of the working class on, and since it cannot be the system, the same system they use to justify their wealthy, it has to be something else so why not blame “misogynists and racists?”
@ The professional class of the party …:
I’m reminded of Matthew 7:15-18:
“By their fruit you will know them”
We are seeing, every day, the fruit of the voters you so eagerly defend. Your constant lies and deceit (nobody here has written anything like what you ascribe to the “professional class of the party above) strike me as the thorns and thistles of the above passage.
Even though yourself have a college degree, you relentlessly attack those of us who want to make that available to those who, unlike you, can’t afford to get one. Wolves in sheep’s clothing? How about college-educated whites who do everything in their power to deny college to poor men and women of all races — knowing full well that such denial falls twice as hard on blacks as on whites.
We see the fruit of those who voted for Mr. Trump and his collaborators. Yet you continue to passionately defend those who consciously summoned forth these demons, who put these evil thugs in power. You and edgarthearmenian continue to attack those of us who categorically oppose such evil.
By their fruit you will know them.
While the statues were going up, FDR was on a commission to use zoning to promote racial segregation. See Richard Rothstein’s book “The Color of Law.”
Ah, Fred, you really are the most dangerous person on this blog. I truly am looking forward to the day when all the statues have been removed, so there is nothing to block the view of you and Tom posing.
I would be honored to ‘pose’ with my friend, Tom, anytime. Anywhere. He is a true progressive champion unlike many of the ‘posers’ here. 🙂
As to being the ‘ most dangerous person on this blog ‘. Although I find the hyperbole a bit over the top, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I’ve always lived life dangerously so I take that as a badge of honor. 🙂
He’s trying to say you are stupid Fred, because you went and titled the blog “stupidity is more dangerous than evil,’ therefore the ‘most dangerous’ is the ‘most stupid.’ (in his view).
Stupidity isn’t the problem, ignorance is… (and they are not the same thing)… there are plenty of smart people who will not change their mind, under any circumstance, which is the very definition of ignorance.
Removing the statues is a necessary, but not sufficient, step to confronting the long, murderous and, indeed, treasonous history of racism. As long as the statues stand their will be no confrontation. When they come down then we can begin.
Despite the fact that many of the statues went up between 1890 and 1920 (before FDR did much of anything, including acquire polio) the fact of the (later) commissions is true. But I wonder what you think it says, or proves, other than the deep and wide spread of racism throughout the entire country for a very, very, long time.
” If statues come down, racism can still be up. There are a lot of those who think that racism is merely by personal interaction. So if they have a Black or Brown friend and they say, ‘ I’m not racist,’ in actuality, that is not what systemic racism is.”
Bishop William J. Barber II, President, Repairers of the Breach
Quienes los payasos???