hilker:

sarahchristine:

toomuchawesome:

alexbalk:

I am a white male in his mid-thirties who makes a more than comfortable living doing something in the creative industry that comes so easily to him it feels almost like a scam when I cash the checks. I live in the most cosmopolitan city in one of the most liberal states of the one country that, for all its faults, is still the shining example of what freedom and democracy can be if honestly applied.

I’ve probably said this before, but here it is: I believe in America. I believe we’re ready. If I’m wrong? It’s going to suck for all those people in Kansas and West Virginia who couldn’t see past the prism of race to somehow support their own self-interest, but you know what? Maybe they deserve to suffer because of that. I mean, I hope it doesn’t turn out that way. Based on my demographic profile, I should be a natural McCain supporter, but I’m not, because, as stupid as this sounds, I want a better world. But hey: If the rest of America doesn’t, I’ll still be just fine, as I suspect many of you who are reading this will also be. So it’s kind of win-win, except for that 13-year-old girl in Hinds County, Mississippi, who is carrying her father’s child but can’t have an abortion because of the ridiculous restrictions the state places on the bodies of its sovereign citizens. It’s gonna be hard for her, but whatever, I’ll be just fine. Hail to the etc.

You know what? Fuck that argument. I’m pretty fucking liberal and as gay as a goddamn Gyllenhaal, but fuck that. Part of the reason I hate arguing politics with anyone is the absolute closed-mindedness of any argument. I hate liberals as much as I hate Republicans because, while they might not be overtly racist, things they say are so disgustingly elitist that it fucking kills me. You know what? Racism, homophobia, and teenage pregnancy doesn’t just exist in the South. Explain to me, please (other than the economic reasons), why New York City keeps electing Republican mayors. Tell me why your city’s police department keeps killing innocent black men based on suspicion. Prove to me that incestuous rape isn’t a problem north of Northern Virginia.

I’m a Southerner from a poor rural town who chose to move to a northern city when I was finally able to. And do you know what I discovered in Chicago? That things are just the same here as they are down there. There may be more liberals, but that doesn’t mean they are any more compassionate than the backwoods hicks of Tobacco Road that they think populate the Red States. There’s racism everywhere; it’s not just an American problem. I know this isn’t particularly new to anyone (much less Alex Balk, who is a great writer and definitely knows what he’s talking about), but it pisses me off that people don’t notice the elitism and hypocrisy behind most liberal political views.

Let me put it this way: What if Bill O’Reilly said essentially the same thing, but instead of referring to a 13-year-old girl in Mississippi needing an abortion, it was a 13-year-old black girl in Detroit who could have benefited from abstinence-only education. Sure, I can’t see that twisted logic, but if he had said that on air, people would have lost their shit. Someone would post the video on Tumblr, shouting Racism! Racism!

….

But still, there are two 13-year-old girls, one in Hills County and one in Detroit, who aren’t affected by our white, liberal bitching, because they’ve got shit to deal with that none of us here will ever understand.

Very well said. The South is not the hub of racism and ignorance, it really does exist above the Mason-Dixon. Those who have only lived in the Northeast or the Midwest where the majority of people are white can be the most ignorant of all. My friend Alice, also from Atlanta, tells a story of when she got to Colby (a small private liberal arts college in Maine) and all her friends would ask about the racism in the South and make comments about how backwards we all were and also claim they weren’t at all racist. But when these same people came down to Atlanta for an event and rode Marta, they then changed their tune and were saying, “I can’t believe how many black people there were. Oh my god.” and other worse things I’d rather not write out. It’s pathetic how others look down on us when you could easily point the finger right back at yourself.

so it begs the question, which is worse: elitism or racism? and don’t forget that racism isn’t only against black people; out west the latino population is marginalized significantly. point is, you always think you’re better than somebody else. i don’t care how postmodern/relativistic/do-whatever-you-want-as-long-as-you’re-happy you are, your point of view is still “better” because you chose it and you’re always going to look down to some degree on those who haven’t been so “enlightened” as yourself. it’s like an evolutionary model of worldviews: those who aren’t as progressive (as if that’s the ultimate goal) as you are inherently inferior.

Will someone please explain what the means of conception has to do with the inherent value of the unborn?