I do not take wacko literally — that was my point about the psychiatrist.
I do think that wacko is a synonym for "THEM," hence my focus on aliens and
cultures.
Have to affirm my ** observation/opinion ** vis-a-vis ethnocentrism. Happy to
defend that position but doubt interest.
Callahan's Is my kind of place and I can see all of you as regulars.
davew
On Tue, Dec 1, 2020, at 3:24 PM, uǝlƃ ↙↙↙ wrote:
> It's odd to me that Dave would take the string "wacko" so literally. As
> a kid, my dad and uncle consistently greeted each other with phrases
> like "Hey Ugly! It's good to see you." Anyone who actually heard such
> exchanges wouldn't think they were being literal. The same is true with
> my wak friends <https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wak>.
>
> It's especially odd that Dave would be so hyper-literal and then
> immediately follow it up with an accusation of ethnocentrism. If I were
> to classify this group, I'd use the word "misfits". While most of us
> probably fit in well enough to earn some sort of living, into some
> stereotype (ethnocentrist demographic), I suspect what keeps many of us
> paying attention is because we're all *wak* ... misfit weirdos in some
> dimension or other. But what do I know? I fly my freak flag proudly.
>
>
> On 12/1/20 12:32 PM, Prof David West wrote:
> > In a different thread, Glen wrote:
> >
> > /"what many of us purport to /*/*want*/*/... common ground with which to
> > have a discussion with the right wing wackos in our lives."/
> >
> > Although I have heard people express a desire for such conversations and
> > questions about finding a common ground upon which to base them — I do not
> > believe a single one of them was honest or sincere.
> >
> > There is only one circumstance in which a 'conversation' with a wacko has
> > any point: a professional psychiatrist seeking to mitigate the mental
> > condition of a patient.
> >
> > Perhaps "right wing wackos" is simply a label (RWW) for a group and not an
> > assertion of their sanity.
> >
> > If RWW are an alien species, ala Martians, then
> > conversation/dialog/exchange might be quite useful and even beneficial —
> > the SciFi trope of "look how much we could learn from someone with such a
> > different perspective." An alternative SciFi trope: "we can never
> > understand each other so we must be implacable enemies and seek to
> > annihilate each other;" is also possible. (Unfortunately, I think the
> > second trope is far more descriptive of the majority of left-vs-right
> > rhetoric these days.)
> >
> > If RWW are simply an exotic human culture; conversation, dialogue,
> > exchange; all are eminently desirable.
> >
> > However, there are preconditions — maybe just one — the ethical principle
> > of cultural anthropology: relativism. There are no objective criteria by
> > which you can judge the 'correctness' the 'rightness' the 'fitness' (there
> > is no cultural evolution theory analogous to Darwin with species) or the
> > 'morality' among cultures. To think otherwise is ethnocentrism.
> >
> > Ethnocentrism is perfect if your goal is to be a cultural imperialist or a
> > missionary, but is not a foundation for constructive dialog or conversation.
> >
> > I love and respect you all, but you seem to me to be one of the most
> > ethnocentric (Liberal-Scientism, for want of a better label) cultures
> > around.
> >
> > A common saying about the role of an anthropologist: /"to make the strange
> > familiar and the familiar strange."/ An ethnography of the RWW would be, in
> > my opinion, quite valuable; and, along with dropping the ethnocentrism,
> > prerequisite to any conversation with them. You run the risk, however, that
> > your study of the mote in the other's eye will craft a lens or a mirror
> > that will reflect the beam in your own.
>
>
> --
> ↙↙↙ uǝlƃ
>
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