Political Litmus Test.

[WelfareQueen]

Gracie started a thread in the flame zone basically saying certain subjects always seem to elicit strong (i.e. angry or intemperate) reactions here at USMB when discussed.

This was Gracie's list.


Abortion
Israel
Islam
Police Violence
Immigration
Politics
Religion
Racism/Bigotry


I think this is a brilliant idea to list these items. I wanted to expand upon Gracie's idea and give folks a chance to briefly state how they feel about these hot button issues.


But I do not want this to be a flame thread. I want this to be a thread where people can be open about how they see these various issues, with the hope of fostering greater understanding.

I'll start things off. My responses are below.


Abortion = settled law. Not personally a favorite of mine but up to the woman involved.

Israel = I know the history extremely well. A two State solution was proposed in 1948. The Arabs has always rejected any claim to the Jews having a viable stake in the Holy Land. They're wrong imho.

Islam = I'm a American. I believe in and support religious freedom. But the jihadist trying to kill us? Fuck 'em...wipe all the cockroaches off the face of the Earth.

Police violence = I have worked with cops for years. They have a very tough job. There just like the rest of us. Some are great at what they do....some are assholes. To generalize they're all assholes is fucking ignorant and bigoted.

Immigration = America is a nation of immigrants. Just sign the guest book when you arrive.

Politics = Social issues I'm liberal. Gay marriage....civil rights...abortion....I'm down with it. Lack of personal responsibility....making excuses for fucked up behavior....trying to create "social justice" by robbing from one group to give to another....that shit is fucking ignorant. America should be about access to equal opportunity. What you do with the opportunity is up to you.

Religion = I respect people of sincere religious faith. I do not ever denigrate anyone for their spiritual believes unless their beliefs hurt others.


Racism/Bigotry = Most Americans are good people. America is not a racist Nation. We have made enormous progress. But there are many assholes in the media and politics who make a ton of money stirring shit up and preying upon weak minds. Hopefully, the stupidity will stop...but I'm not counting on it.

 

[Howey]

Can't say I disagree with you on any of those points but I would like to point out on the Israel issue, as a peace loving Jew, that most Jews wish for an equitable solution to the problem and look forward to both a Jewish state and a Palestinian state.

As far as racism, while I agree that things have improved, there remains a racist undercurrent in our country that needs to subside yet.

 

[Howey]

And pajama boy is a cootie patootie.

 

[WelfareQueen]

Can't say I disagree with you on any of those points but I would like to point out on the Israel issue, as a peace loving Jew, that most Jews wish for an equitable solution to the problem and look forward to both a Jewish state and a Palestinian state.

As far as racism, while I agree that things have improved, there remains a racist undercurrent in our country that needs to subside yet.

I agree with you. I also believe the vast majority of Jews both in Israel and around the World want a two State solution and peace. I am not as convinced most Arabs feel the same.

And yeah....there is clearly a strong racial undercurrent in America. All of these media driven stories seem to confirm it.

Howey, please feel free to expand on any of the other categories. My hope is folks really understand where their fellow USMB posters are coming from.

 

[Howey]

I'd also like to point out that Gracie is absolutely right too. All of those issues are button pushers for Internet forums. Without the back and forth we wouldn't be here.

A greater threat to our existence is trolls whose only goal is to attack others without adding to the debate.

And I don't mean just on internet forums.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Abortion:
A despicable last resort. Alternatives to abortion do not receive enough funding and that's a shame because it would reduce abortions by a lot. The right is not interested in funding alternatives because they think sex should never have happened to begin with, and the left is just in love with abortion. So the right should try to support alternative choices, and the left should try to demand some Goddamn accountability for the number of abortions in this country.

Israel:
If we could turn back time to 1948 and show world leaders what was to come in the future they probably wouldn't have created the state of Israel in the first place. The citizens of Israel could be living without worries somewhere in Europe or the U.S. instead of the shithole that is the Middle East. But they're determined to live in that cesspool, and honestly, there is no solution in sight. Our kids will be in forums discussing the violence between Israel and Palestine just like we are right now. And their kids, and so on and so on.
Islam:
A stupid religion that the world would be better off without.
Police Violence:
Make them all wear cameras.
Immigration:
Deporting every illegal is impossible. Beyond that I hope that people with more knowledge about this issue than me or anyone on this forum can figure out the best answer.
Politics:
Same thing as WelfareQueen wrote.
Religion:
Feel free to worship however you like as long as you don't support terrorism (muslims) or drive people towards drugs and suicides (christians).
Racism/Bigotry:
If you think a skin color can be superior to another skin color then the world will be a better place when you're 6 feet under.

That is all.