Althouse: "Your brain thinks cops are probably Trump supporters (true or not) while you probably see cop-killers as Clinton supporters (true or not)."

July 15, 2016

"Your brain thinks cops are probably Trump supporters (true or not) while you probably see cop-killers as Clinton supporters (true or not)."

"And that means the recent slaughter of five policemen in Dallas changed your mental equation. Now it seems – to our irrational minds – that we no longer have a contest between crooked and racist. Now we have a contest between cop-killers and racists. And in that contest, the racists win. That’s because most folks see in themselves at least a little bit of racial bias, but almost none of us see ourselves as cop-killers. So identity politics now favors racist because the alternative is cop-killer. There aren’t many ways to make peace-loving racists seem like a good thing, but compared to cop-killers, they come out slightly ahead."

Said Scott Adams.

30 comments:

Chuck said...: I want Scott Adams to explain the new Trump-Pence logo. You know, from the standpoint of mastering persuasion.; 7/15/16, 8:00 PM
Jon Ericson said...: Man, that tool is fast.; 7/15/16, 8:02 PM
Jon Ericson said...: Chuck-E that is.; 7/15/16, 8:05 PM
Michael K said...: Peter Thiel is a Trump delegate and speaker at the GOP convention.

Thiel, the co-founder of Paypal and the first outside investor in Facebook, has reversed his longstanding hostility to Trump, and a close friend says it is primarily because he has been won over by The Donald’s vocal opposition to political correctness.

A lot of people are making that connection.; 7/15/16, 8:29 PM
Big Mike said...: "Racist" is Democrat slang for "not one of us." Everyone who isn't a hardcore, card-carrying Democrat is a racist h8er, at least according to them.

And everyone knows it.; 7/15/16, 8:32 PM
Chuck said...: Michael K said...
Peter Thiel is a Trump delegate and speaker at the GOP convention.

Thiel, the co-founder of Paypal and the first outside investor in Facebook, has reversed his longstanding hostility to Trump, and a close friend says it is primarily because he has been won over by The Donald’s vocal opposition to political correctness.

A lot of people are making that connection.

A lawsuit in every pot, and a hedge fund in every garage.; 7/15/16, 8:42 PM
eric said...: The racist thing will be repeated until november in different forms.

The cop killer thing? Hopefully not.; 7/15/16, 8:48 PM
Humperdink said...: The party of peace and love will descend on Cleveland to protest the assembled haters. Then proceed to destroy the city.

Same gang will then move on to Philly.; 7/15/16, 8:52 PM
Michael K said...: Chuck is certainly reliable.

Chuck, how did you woo your wife ?; 7/15/16, 9:00 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Adams was wrong all along- the only people who really believe Trump is racist are the die-hard Democratic voters he had no chance of winning anyway. However, he is right about one thing- Clinton will carry BLM and like-minded groups like an iron weight the rest of the way. People thinking she will have a Sister Souljah moment are delusional. It remains to be seen if the Democratic activists are smart enough to not riot in Cleveland. I doubt they are.; 7/15/16, 9:12 PM
traditionalguy said...: OK, maybe that Logo was meant to look like a Brokeback Mountain wolf whistle to the Gays. Or Trump being from Queens, is just punking Pence.; 7/15/16, 9:13 PM
Joan said...: Yancey, Adams' point is that none of this is conscious. He's not talking about what people think they believe or the even smaller set of things that people will admit to believing. He's talking about how your unconscious reacts, how your lizard-brain is responding.

I'm not saying I agree with him, but it's interesting because he has an entirely different take than FiveThirtyEight or Vox or pretty much anyone else. All that analysis is superficial compared to Adams'.; 7/15/16, 9:19 PM
West Texas Intermediate Crude said...: I believe that black Americans will achieve something close to equality of outcome with other Americans (as other ethnic minority groups have in America) if only the government would stop treating them as children, incapable of making their own progress. That means ending affirmative action and quotas, stop requiring the padding of their test scores, discontinuing disparate impact evaluations, and all the other activity that forces all of us to treat a black American different than a non-black American. Ending the subsidization of the destruction of the black family would help also.
I believe all of that based on common sense, history, and my own experience working with accomplished black people.
So, yeah, I'm a racist by their definition. Not "a little bit of racial bias," but a full blooded 100% racist, who believes that black people are as capable as any other, if we remove the ball-and-chain of government help from their lives.

I will certify myself as 0% cop-killer. Never killed one, never hurt one, never even spoke harshly to one.

I previously was intending to vote for Trump very reluctantly.
Now I'm close to sending him a donation.

Am I the only one?; 7/15/16, 11:44 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: The logo calls to mind a certain monologue from Team America: World Police.; 7/16/16, 12:00 AM
tim maguire said...: Yancey, people may not believe Trump is a racist, but they believe Trump supporters are racist. Voters are not deciding whether to become Trump, they are deciding whether to become Trump supporters.

Of note, Adams says (and, incredibly, I think he's probably right) that most of us recognize a bit of the racist in ourselves, AND many people consider racist only slightly better than cop-killer. The manipulation necessary to pull that off is mindboggling.; 7/16/16, 6:12 AM
tim maguire said...: Joan is right too--she makes a distinction I glossed over, but she is correct.; 7/16/16, 6:14 AM
dreams said...: "There aren’t many ways to make peace-loving racists seem like a good thing, but compared to cop-killers, they come out slightly ahead.""

Slightly ahead?; 7/16/16, 7:07 AM
Freder Frederson said...: I'm glad my brain doesn't work like Scott Adams'.; 7/16/16, 7:31 AM
stlcdr said...: Scott Adams creates comics; one specific comic which is good and fun. Blogging and commentary? Unfortunately no better than an average basement dweller.

Analyzing His blog is like analyzing a cat playing with a feather (perhaps you are the feather and he is the cat?); 7/16/16, 7:32 AM
traditionalguy said...: Adams has talent in areas that the best psyops Media Narrative guys covet. Hillary is an amateur stuck thinking in the tropes that worked in the 1970s. She is so dumb that she has to rely on her advisors, who are Bill Clinton (who subconsciously wants her to lose) Huma Abden (who is a life long Saudi agent)and Sid Blumenthal (who is only in it to grab some insider loot).

This election will be a landslide for Trump. The honest Dems are already looking forward to a quick 2020 comeback.; 7/16/16, 7:55 AM
MPH said...: Bulb is dimming; 7/16/16, 8:14 AM
ddh said...: Big Mike, you forgot to add that racist h8ers should die a long, lingering death from a loathsome incurable disease and that their women and children should all be raped and murdered.

The progressive heart is full of empathy for the human condition and love for all humanity. You should understand that.; 7/16/16, 8:16 AM
dreams said...: "This election will be a landslide for Trump. The honest Dems are already looking forward to a quick 2020 comeback."

I agree. Its kind of like 1980.; 7/16/16, 8:24 AM
dreams said...: Though I don't think there are very many honest Dems.; 7/16/16, 8:32 AM
Jupiter said...: "There aren’t many ways to make peace-loving racists seem like a good thing, but compared to cop-killers, they come out slightly ahead."

Who said we're peace-loving?; 7/16/16, 10:59 AM
Jupiter said...: West Texas Intermediate Crude said...

"So, yeah, I'm a racist by their definition. Not "a little bit of racial bias," but a full blooded 100% racist, who believes that black people are as capable as any other, if we remove the ball-and-chain of government help from their lives."

You really think that a racial group that tests a full standard deviation lower in IQ than the rest of the population is "as capable as any other"? You think that black ghettos are sinks of pointless criminality because of "the government"? You think that the ability of a few exemplary individuals to perform at a high level in white society somehow negates what blacks have done to once-great cities like Detroit and Baltimore? What, does examining evidence make you break out in a rash?; 7/16/16, 11:30 AM
West Texas Intermediate Crude said...: Jupiter-
I know that the average black IQ is around 85- I just don't think it's determinative of societal outcome to the extent that you apparently do. There are plenty of baristas with Masters degrees and 110 IQs who earn way less, and contribute less to society, than a plumber or truck driver with a 95 IQ and a 70-90K income. So, yeah, depending on your definition of "capable," we can disagree. The IQ tests are written and designed by upper middle class white folks- who do you think will do well on them?
Yes, black ghettos are sinks of criminality because of the government- using the government inspired and financed breakdown of the black family as the means. And worthless government schools, also.
I'll concede your point re the cities you mention- although again people who have been subjected to government schools and subsidies/motivations can hardly be expected to vote wisely.; 7/16/16, 1:12 PM
JCC said...: While I think Adams' analysis is kind of stupid, I also think that as more and more violence occurs, both here and elsewhere, more people will (reluctantly) vote for Trump - as long as he can control his mouth and not say anything too frightening.

When BLM riots and blocks expressways, keeping sick kids and women having babies from the hospital; when ISIS kills women and children at will; when former generals go on TV and tell us that the current administration is - in essence - doing nothing, Trump benefits. When we discover scandals of the current administration, and the President says "Nothing to see", the Attorney General meets with the obviously corrupt Bill Clinton, when daily, there is the stink of corruption from DC, people just want to vote for someone new, and it benefits Trump. Watch a funeral for a cop or a soldier who died for lack of support, and Trump benefits.

People who would not consider Trump a viable candidate several months back will now consider voting for him, even if it means holding one's nose, because of Orlando, Dallas, ISIS, BLM, and everything else. It all helps Trump.

As long as he doesn't run his mouth and scare everyone into thinking he might start WWIII on a whim, that is. As has been the case, the election is really the Republicans to lose. They have been trying to give it away for months. They're still trying.

But just watch TV for a couple of days. How could you and think "Gee, these Democrats are doing a great job. Let's keep them in office."; 7/16/16, 6:32 PM
Rusty said...: Blogger Freder Frederson said...
I'm glad my brain doesn't work like Scott Adams'.

We're all rather impressed that yours works at all.
keep up swingin' there skippy.; 7/17/16, 7:27 AM
mikee said...: Most folks, rather than seeing in themselves a little bit of racism, recognize the charge of racism today as a mere easy lie for political advantage, rather than anything related to reality or truth or, you know, racism.; 7/17/16, 11:24 AM