Althouse: You think: "What a good-hearted, mellow person I am," I think: "Inside the Madison cocoon."

October 19, 2013

You think: "What a good-hearted, mellow person I am," I think: "Inside the Madison cocoon."

79 comments:

ddh said...: I read somewhere that people who plaster their cars with multiple bumper stickers are the drivers most given to road rage. That observation seems true to me.; 10/19/13, 11:19 AM
YoungHegelian said...: Anybody who turns the bumper of their car into an ideological sounding board is not "mellow".

Not that there's anything wrong with being "un-mellow". Some of my best friends are un-mellow.; 10/19/13, 11:21 AM
rhhardin said...: It looks like bullying to me.; 10/19/13, 11:27 AM
Carol said...: "your Christ"

I.e., I would be a much better Christian than you, if I believed in that shit.; 10/19/13, 11:31 AM
Unknown said...: Ohh boy, so many targets here.
"well educated " I eagerly await any evidence to support your scurrilous assertion. Particularly in light of the behaviours and conduct of said teachers during the recent protests in your capital.
"my heroes " Really, including those of ever increasing numbers whom, it seems, routinely sexually assault students ? Those whom attempt to indoctrinate, not teach, students with their asinine and idiotic lib claptrap ? And does it include those whom seek to punish students as well as their parents, the taxpayers, whenever said "teachers" only get 98% of what they demand in obscenely bloated contracts instead of 110% ?
" like your Christ " Again, I eagerly await any evidence that this assertion is remotely accurate in light of your, routinely, unchristian, indeed, uncharitable behaviours too anyone whom does hew to your propaganda all of the time. You sir/madam are a fraud and a deluded liar.; 10/19/13, 11:31 AM
Sofa King said...: Well educated? Maybe, but not enough so as to disdain spreading ignorance via false attribution in the furtherance of political propaganda: there is no evidence Gandhi ever said that.; 10/19/13, 11:34 AM
sakredkow said...: A couple of steps above the guys with the nut sacks hanging off their trucks though.; 10/19/13, 11:37 AM
Unknown said...: " Blogger phx said..." I wouldn't be so sure of that.; 10/19/13, 11:42 AM
Irene said...: Why did the owner of the car post the "Recall Walker" sticker on the car's rear window, instead of on the bumper?

People who have only one bumper sticker might want to position it on a window—from which it would be easy to remove later. Those people may not want to mar the surface of their vehicle, or they may want to remove a sticker ("Kerry/Edwards") after an election season ends. But why put one sticker in the window when you've already pasted others on the bumper? Isn't the "Recall Walker" the one the owner would really want to make permanent, here in this-is-what-democracy-looks-like land?; 10/19/13, 11:46 AM
madAsHell said...: well educated == spent too much money on multiple credentials; 10/19/13, 11:47 AM
Carl said...: I think: On what demonic shameful impulses do you struggle to ride herd, such that you need to so prominently declare your good-heartedness?

Very similar to my thoughts on observing a used-car salesman calling himself Honest Sam.; 10/19/13, 11:47 AM
Kev said...: (the other kev)

I automatically deduct 20 IQ points for every bumper sticker I see. Progs usually end up somewhere around minus 120.

My favorite? That wretched 'coexist' piece of shit. So ignorant of actual religion and history.; 10/19/13, 11:48 AM
Titus said...: When I was visiting Madison I used to see this truck that had like 10 times these amount of bumper stickers, although it was all conservative.

My fave on his truck was the name of some car driver, by the name of Dale something. The sticker has a car with Dale's name on it and the car had wings flying up to heaven.

Bumper stickers of all kinds are extremely tacky.; 10/19/13, 11:54 AM
Anonymous said...: How many IQ points should be deducted from the owner of this car?; 10/19/13, 11:56 AM
the wolf said...: Nothing like being lectured about Christianity by the anti-Semite Gandhi.; 10/19/13, 11:59 AM
Jupiter said...: Drives a Honda, I see.; 10/19/13, 11:59 AM
Titus said...: Although...cars that have seasonal Martha's Vineyard beach stickers are totally fab.; 10/19/13, 12:00 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Why did the owner of the car post the "Recall Walker" sticker on the car's rear window, instead of on the bumper?"

Ha ha. That was a big topic for us as we waited out the light.

"But why put one sticker in the window when you've already pasted others on the bumper? Isn't the "Recall Walker" the one the owner would really want to make permanent, here in this-is-what-democracy-looks-like land?"

Since the recall was over a year ago, the easy-removal theory is shot to hell.

Flaunting education and then taping a bumper sticker inside the window caused us to do jokes about dumbness.; 10/19/13, 12:00 PM
CachorroQuente said...: "whom. . . assault"

"whom attempt"

"whom seek"

"whom does hew"

Am I missing the punchline?; 10/19/13, 12:00 PM
Brent said...: In 41 years of owning my own cars, I have only ever had 1 Bumper Sticker on one of them. It read:

Ban All Bumper Stickers; 10/19/13, 12:01 PM
Laura said...: Cars like this always make me wonder about the resale value of cars with bumper sticker residue.; 10/19/13, 12:02 PM
Titus said...: That sticker is cool though Inga.; 10/19/13, 12:02 PM
Laura said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/19/13, 12:03 PM
sakredkow said...: Isn't the "Recall Walker" the one the owner would really want to make permanent

Maybe it's the one the owner really wanted to make prominent.; 10/19/13, 12:05 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "My favorite? That wretched 'coexist' piece of shit. So ignorant of actual religion and history."

That's funny, because we talked a lot about how hostile these stickers were, especially that "your Christ" one ---- which seemed to just be completely in your face about hating Christians, and I don't care that Gandhi said it. You can't get off the hook for gratuitous hostility by slapping Gandhi's name on it, where you've taken Gandhi's longer statement and made him a bumper sticker. It's unfair to Gandhi on top of the Christian-hating.

But I'm sure this person, as my post title indicates, thinks he/she is not just nice but especially nice. She/he is simply, like many people in Madison, not looking at it from the perspective of someone who's not a cocoon-mate.

But Meade said: Just put one of those "coexist" stickers on and be done with it. I strongly agreed. That's well-designed, thoughtfully open-ended, and subtle.

It's not wretched at all. It's the best bumper sticker for people who would be tempted to descend into the kind of display we're seeing here on WET's car.; 10/19/13, 12:06 PM
Titus said...: I don't like coexist either or =.

During the move in at Harvard this fall I saw a South Carolina car that said Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve....in Cambridge!

I thought, how long is that car going to survive.; 10/19/13, 12:10 PM
Michael K said...: Inga, did you notice the anti-Mormon comment a few below your great discovery ? HuffPo is sure a source of wisdom.; 10/19/13, 12:21 PM
Illuninati said...: I love that picture. It demonstrates human folly so perfectly. It reminds me of Elizabeth's father in Jane Austin's book Pride and Prejudice who could stand back and enjoy human vanities.

The poster reveals more about himself than about the targets of his criticism. He thinks he is much smarter than people who disagree with him and he detests Christians. He clearly believes that the people he is posting against are not only dumb but evil but despite his superior intelligence he offers no objective evidence to support his position but instead relies on ad hominem attacks to establish his case.; 10/19/13, 12:22 PM
Michael K said...: "But Meade said: Just put one of those "coexist" stickers on and be done with it. I strongly agreed. That's well-designed, thoughtfully open-ended, and subtle."

Well, it kept the Boston bombers from killing that Asian guy.; 10/19/13, 12:24 PM
Ann Althouse said...: @Titus

From David Rakoff's "Fraud":

"In New England everyone calls you 'Dave' regardless of however many times you might introduce yourself as David. I am reminded of those fanatically religious homophobes who stand on the steps of St. Patrick’s Cathedral during Gay Pride, holding signs that say, 'Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!' I have always wanted to go up to them and say, 'Well, of course not Adam and Steve. Never Adam and Steve. It’s Adam and Steven.'"; 10/19/13, 12:28 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Well, it kept the Boston bombers from killing that Asian guy."

There would be no need to advise people to coexist if they were already doing it.

If you want to say no bumper stickers promoting things we don't already have, then you're pretty much saying no bumper stickers, which is okay with me.

But if what you are trying to say is that Islam doesn't belong in the sticker because Muslims are incapable of coexisting, then you yourself are purveying a despicable sentiment.; 10/19/13, 12:32 PM
MadTownGuy said...: Why can't they Coexist with Scott Walker?; 10/19/13, 12:38 PM
Wince said...: What does the rest of the number plate say?

"Dream"?; 10/19/13, 12:42 PM
Hyphenated American said...: I wonder why no liberal would have a sticker that says: "I like your Mohammed, but I don't like your mohamedians. They are so much unlike your Mohammed"? This would be a hoot, given Mohammed's history of child rape and genocide. Or maybe the phrase can be reversed? In any case, I don't think a liberal would treat Islam (in spite of all the terrorism, or is it because of it?) with same disrespect as he treats Christianity. That's because liberals are bullies.; 10/19/13, 1:00 PM
kjbe said...: "I.e., I would be a much better Christian than you, if I believed in that shit."

If you're comparing, you're not the better.; 10/19/13, 1:01 PM
Unknown said...: " Blogger Hyphenated American said...
I wonder why no liberal would have a sticker that says.... " No courage. Christians won't come and burn down your home with you in it, or your church, car, or business.
I think that if they, Christians, changed that they'd get much better treatment in the press.; 10/19/13, 1:23 PM
Jupiter said...: "But if what you are trying to say is that Islam doesn't belong in the sticker because Muslims are incapable of coexisting, then you yourself are purveying a despicable sentiment."

Althouse, why exactly do you think it is despicable to suppose that people whose ethical system explicitly directs them to murder or subjugate anyone who doesn't share it are incapable of coexisting? Would you make the same defense of the Mafia? The Crips?; 10/19/13, 1:25 PM
Kev said...: (the other kev)

Inga.

That sticker? "I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul."; 10/19/13, 1:33 PM
Anonymous said...: It's Fundamentalist Radicalism. It appears that Islam has a fault in that it states non Muslims are infidels and are allowed to be killed if they refuse to convert, if I understand it correctly. I doubt that any of the Bosnian Muslims I know would want to kill me.; 10/19/13, 1:40 PM
Bilwick said...: It's a wonder there isn't an NPR bumper-sticker. My experience is that gung-ho NPR supporters exist in the same cocoon as this driver with the PC bumper-stickers. Currently the local NPR station here is having a fund-raising drive, and it's punctuated by recorded messages from supporters, most of whom exude that how-smart-and-enlightened-all-of-us-are smugness. (Parodied in the movie THE FAMILY STONE, in which one of the annoying "liberals" the movie pokes fun at prominently displays an NPR tote bag.) News flash, folks: If, at this stage of human history--especially after living through the 20th Century--you still believe the State is your best friend, and giving it more money and power can only bring about good things, you're really not that smart.; 10/19/13, 1:51 PM
Bilwick said...: It's a wonder there isn't an NPR bumper-sticker. My experience is that gung-ho NPR supporters exist in the same cocoon as this driver with the PC bumper-stickers. Currently the local NPR station here is having a fund-raising drive, and it's punctuated by recorded messages from supporters, most of whom exude that how-smart-and-enlightened-all-of-us-are smugness. (Parodied in the movie THE FAMILY STONE, in which one of the annoying "liberals" the movie pokes fun at prominently displays an NPR tote bag.) News flash, folks: If, at this stage of human history--especially after living through the 20th Century--you still believe the State is your best friend, and giving it more money and power can only bring about good things, you're really not that smart.; 10/19/13, 1:52 PM
David-2 said...: Brent @ 12:01 PM said...
In 41 years of owning my own cars, I have only ever had 1 Bumper Sticker on one of them.

Same here. It was slapped on my car ... and plenty of others! ... in a mall parking lot. I had to pay to get it removed. Don't remember what it said.

Althouse @ 12:32 PM:
But if what you are trying to say is that Islam doesn't belong in the sticker because Muslims are incapable of coexisting, then you yourself are purveying a despicable sentiment.

But what if he was trying to say Islam doesn't belong in the sticker because of the perception - accurate! - that, regardless of whether they are capable or not of coexisting, they aren't, that Muslims, throughout the world, are doing most of the aggression against people with any other religious beliefs?; 10/19/13, 1:52 PM
Jupiter said...: Inga,

The fact that you know some Muslims who don't want to kill you may not be much comfort to the millions of people whose Muslim neighbors do want to kill them, rape them, rob them, or force them to convert or submit to sharia law.; 10/19/13, 1:56 PM
Anonymous said...: Yes Jupiter, that is so. I wasn't trying to comfort anyone, I was however trying to make some open their eyes to Fundamentalists and Radicals.; 10/19/13, 1:59 PM
Birches said...: The problem with the Coexist Bumper sticker is it's usually employed by someone who is Anti-Christian, not someone who wants world peace. It might have been a nice sentiment when it first came around, but it's been co-opted. . .

And lest anyone think liberal= well educated.

Tea Partiers know science better than non-Tea Partiers

I'm growing increasingly disgusted with people who assume that because someone disagrees with you politically, they're some kind of uneducated yodel or only interested in a government handout.; 10/19/13, 2:01 PM
TosaGuy said...: A non-union made Honda, a favorite of the preening liberal set.; 10/19/13, 2:02 PM
TosaGuy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/19/13, 2:02 PM
TosaGuy said...: A non-union made Honda, a favorite of the preening liberal set.; 10/19/13, 2:08 PM
Lydia said...: the wolf said...
Nothing like being lectured about Christianity by the anti-Semite Gandhi.

Yeah.

And I wonder how many "well-educated" Gandhi lovers know that he said this in 1938:

"I make bold to say that if the Jews can summon to their aid the soul power that comes only from non-violence, Herr Hitler will bow before the courage which he has never yet experienced in any large measure in his dealings with men, and which, when it is exhibited, he will own is infinitely superior to that shown by his best storm troopers."; 10/19/13, 2:14 PM
cubanbob said...: Lydia said...
the wolf said...
Nothing like being lectured about Christianity by the anti-Semite Gandhi.

Yeah.

And I wonder how many "well-educated" Gandhi lovers know that he said this in 1938:

"I make bold to say that if the Jews can summon to their aid the soul power that comes only from non-violence, Herr Hitler will bow before the courage which he has never yet experienced in any large measure in his dealings with men, and which, when it is exhibited, he will own is infinitely superior to that shown by his best storm troopers."

10/19/13, 2:14 PM

Well said indeed. Notice Gandhi didn't offer the same advice to Europeans facing Hitler or Asians facing the Japanese.; 10/19/13, 2:35 PM
Anonymous said...: When I was young and a liberal, I thought that my beliefs were a result of being well educated. Later I realized that I was just arrogant. Everyone should read Thomas Sowell's "The Vision of the Anointed".; 10/19/13, 3:31 PM
Nicholas said...: Given that the numberplate begins with the admission "WET",surely the bumper stickers are superfluous?; 10/19/13, 3:45 PM
David said...: EDH said...
What does the rest of the number plate say?

"Wet-Something."

Dream was a good suggestion. Others:

t-shit.
back.
diaper.
dog.
summer.
towel.
lips.
shoes.
floor.
down.

I avoided the crass and obvious.

Like kitty-cat.; 10/19/13, 4:17 PM
Illuninati said...: Inga said:
"Yes Jupiter, that is so. I wasn't trying to comfort anyone, I was however trying to make some open their eyes to Fundamentalists and Radicals."

To me this sounds like the usual leftist moral equivalence between dedicated Muslims and committed Christians. I don't quite understand where that comes from. In trying to understand it I think one possibility is that people on the left think that all religion is fairy tails. Since religious beliefs have little influence on their own lives they extrapolate to everyone else and conclude that no right thinking person would take their religious beliefs seriously. People on the left have been taught to explain all human conflicts through the dialectic of economic conflict and are simply not able to comprehend the power of religion to shape people and societies. The other possibility is that leftists are so contemptuous of religious beliefs that they deliberately avoid reading the Holy Books of various religions, are ignorant of the real differences between them and just assume that they are all essentially the same.

Althouse said:
"But if what you are trying to say is that Islam doesn't belong in the sticker because Muslims are incapable of coexisting, then you yourself are purveying a despicable sentiment."

It may be a despicable sentiment but that does not make it untrue. In my own study of Islam I have found no inclination among Muslims to coexist on equal terms with anyone. Muslims have informed me that their beliefs do not permit them to love anyone of any other religion. They will be friendly and polite, but that does not mean that the Muslim considers the non-Muslim worthy of love. There is always a reserve which the non-Muslim may not recognize.

When they are in the majority, Muslims will allow Christians and Jews to live as second class citizens called Dhimmis. Hindus and other polytheists are not supposed to be allowed to practice their religion on pain of death, but in India the Muslims found that exploiting the polytheists was very profitable so they did allow them to live as Dhimmis although historically they have massacred many of the Hindus and gradually pushed Hindus from their traditional homeland.

Egypt is an interesting situation. The majority of Egyptians are dedicated Muslims but are struggling to escape the clutches of the Muslim Brotherhood which the United States supports. Egypt is struggling financially and socially. It is one of the most important centers of Islamic learning in the world. It appears that there are a sizeable portion of the Egyptian population who are seeking a way to coexist at least with the Coptic Christians who were the original inhabitants of Egypt. The outcome of the struggle in Egypt is uncertain, but one can hope that they will succeed in their quest to normalize relationships between the Muslims and the Copts.; 10/19/13, 4:29 PM
Jupiter said...: "When I was young and a liberal, I thought that my beliefs were a result of being well educated."

It would seem to follow, that if liberalism is the result of education, then we would all start out conservatives, and slowly come to see the light. But the opposite is far more common. "If a man is not a liberal at twenty, then he has no heart. And if he is not a conservative at forty, then he has no brain."; 10/19/13, 4:31 PM
campy said...: Currently the local NPR station here is having a fund-raising drive,

You mean there are times when they're not?; 10/19/13, 4:38 PM
MadisonMan said...: Missing the MTI sticker.; 10/19/13, 4:46 PM
poppa india said...: Apologies for the language, but this guy should get a sticker that says what he really thinks..."My shit smells like ice cream".; 10/19/13, 5:34 PM
Rusty said...: Inga said...
How many IQ points should be deducted from the owner of this car?

I'd tell you but the answer would be incomprehensible to you.; 10/19/13, 5:38 PM
donald said...: I used to have a Beat Farmers AND an I Love (Actually a heart) Jason And The Scorchers bumper sticker. I figure that's like a plus 100.; 10/19/13, 5:50 PM
Anonymous said...: If Christians weren't unlike Christ, what would they need Christ for?; 10/19/13, 5:54 PM
Robert Cook said...: I haven't bothered to read the comments yet, as I just want to react to that picture: anyone who would put sloganeering bumper stickers of any type on their car is advertising to the world that they are sanctimonious assholes.; 10/19/13, 5:57 PM
Iconochasm said...: Jupiter said...
"But if what you are trying to say is that Islam doesn't belong in the sticker because Muslims are incapable of coexisting, then you yourself are purveying a despicable sentiment."

Althouse, why exactly do you think it is despicable to suppose that people whose ethical system explicitly directs them to murder or subjugate anyone who doesn't share it are incapable of coexisting? Would you make the same defense of the Mafia? The Crips?

Because it ignores memetic immunity. Many or most Muslims know you're not really supposed to go around murdering and subjugating the way most Christians know that you're not really supposed to go all Old Testament on some unbeliever's ass, or Catholics not really giving a crap about meat on Fridays. A religion actually calling for total war on everyone else would have a terrible chance of surviving for long. It'd be like going all-in on every poker hand.; 10/19/13, 6:39 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: Bumper stickers are correlated with road rage.

Shocking.; 10/19/13, 7:31 PM
Hyphenated American said...: And one more thing on the diversity of standards, why is it that the president Obama himself found the time to go the United Nations and tell them that the future would not belong to those who critisized Mohammed, and yet he is strangely silent on the denigration of the mormon religion, or put it differently, why us it that media always call Mohammed "a prophet", while never addressing john smith in tbe same manner? Is it religious intolerance, racism, or simply that our media outlets are operating under the sharia law?; 10/19/13, 7:52 PM
Lauderdale Vet said...: I've always preferred this coexist bumper sticker.; 10/19/13, 7:53 PM
Clyde said...: Other possibilities for WET-:

Spot.
Blanket.
End.; 10/19/13, 7:57 PM
JAWilson said...: Where's the friggin "Coexist" bumper sticker?; 10/19/13, 8:48 PM
JAWilson said...: Where's the friggin "Coexist" bumper sticker?; 10/19/13, 8:49 PM
JAWilson said...: Great minds...; 10/19/13, 8:50 PM
Titus said...: Chick's bumper stickers, reason for living, screen saver, motto are:

Sullivanist
Sarah Palin
and
Alinsky; 10/19/13, 10:42 PM
Mary Beth said...: Demetri Martin: A lot of people don't like bumper stickers. I don't mind bumper stickers. To me a bumper sticker is a shortcut. It's like a little sign that says 'Hey, let's never hang out.'

I've never had a bumper sticker on any of my cars. Has anyone's opinion ever been changed by one? Or influenced a decision on how to vote? I don't understand the point of them unless it's just to feel like part of a group.; 10/20/13, 12:05 AM
Mary Beth said...: Don't you risk damaging the wires that defog the rear window if you tape something there and then try to remove it?; 10/20/13, 12:09 AM
Anonymous said...: I have "I Am the Stig" on the back window of my Honda.

They told me it was worth 10 more horsepower; 10/20/13, 12:15 AM
kjbe said...: If your motive is truly to engage in civil discourse, you need to change your approach and give the respect you are saying you desire. If your desire is not for civil discourse but to agitate, than you can't really complain when people react to your agitation.; 10/20/13, 9:41 AM
Sabinal said...: I agree with Ann about the Gandhi statement. That plus some atheists like to use that rumor of what G. said to be cute and fit in. Lane

for what may have actually been said here is a website:

http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/7973/did-mahatma-gandhi-say-i-like-your-christ-i-do-not-like-your-christians; 10/20/13, 9:50 AM
Sabinal said...: I meant "lame"; 10/20/13, 9:51 AM
Franklin said...: "Elitist"

The attitude reflected in that bumper sticker is exactly why I don't think we on the right should call anyone an "elitist" - even though they're misunderstanding what's meant by "elitist", we should emphasize that the Welfare Recipients, Identity Politickers, and Public Employees that make up almost the entirety of the Democrat voting base are in absolutely no way elite. Rather, they are the dregs of society, and we ought to highlight that for everyone.; 10/20/13, 12:53 PM
Sal said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/20/13, 2:59 PM