This Is How the "Left" Thinks

[Aramike]

I've always considered myself a "centrist". Frankly, I like to find holes in the arguments of both sides of the political spectrum. Often, this is far more interesting to me than the issues themselves.

New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman gives us a great insight into how some people on the left think in this column.. In it he complains about, amongst other things, his cellphone dropping calls. He claims that,

Landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong was, as I’ve argued before, like going from the Jetsons to the Flintstones.

Here's another odd quote:

All I could think to myself was: If we’re so smart, why are other people living so much better than us?

REALLY? Thomas Friedman apparently believes that how many bars his cellphone gets and how clean Penn Station's floors are serve as indicators for quality of life.

Abe Greenwald from Commentary Magazine wrote a very poignant response. Here's a gem of a quote:

The Chinese live better than us? That’s insulting. No, not to us - to the poor Chinese! With their industrial slaves, toxic red seas, multicolored air, ethnic warfare, human trafficking, forced population relocations, birth fines, and dam collapses, Thomas Friedman gives them an A+ on the Super Sci-Fi Cellular Network Global Connectivity Scale and calls it a day.

Interesting...

[SUBMAN1]

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Typical.

-S

[Diopos]

He's not the right left! Right?

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by Diopos

He's not the right left! Right?

I almost started marching at that one:rotfl:

[PeriscopeDepth]

There should be a sticky at the top of this forum. It would be the most popular thread on GT. And it would be called "My politics is bigger than your politics".

PD

[mookiemookie]

As a lefty, I'd just like to say that Friedman is pretty much regarded as an idiot on our side of the spectrum as well.

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by PeriscopeDepth

There should be a sticky at the top of this forum. It would be the most popular thread on GT. And it would be called "My politics is bigger than your politics".

PD

This isn't about politics. This is about intellectual honesty, hypocrisy, and elitism.

It's about the way that both sides of the aisle skew everything in order to try to make their points resonate.

This is about the way that elements on the left continuously blame the right for this "rich, white guy" mentality then elect Ted Kennedy again and again. This is elements on the right unilaterally claim that taxation is bad, then go on to spend billions without accounting for it.

In Friedman's column alone you see example after example of him taking an element out of context in order to make his argument for a better US infrastructure. If your point is so damned valid, why do you have to be so "pie-in-the-sky" about it?

We just see this phenomenon again and again. In the abortion debate alone, we have primarily two sides which are absurdly titled "prolife" and "pro-choice". The right-wing acts as though it's somehow the moral highground on general issues of life, then go on to be for capital punishment. The left-wing acts as though the only choice that is presented is AFTER conception. Why not just tell the truth? Why these grand, bullsh** titles instead of the REAL positions of anti-abortion and pro-abortion?

These are the things I find interesting/frustrating. Thomas Friedman is just another case-in-point. He just made it REAL easy to post about.

[subchaser12]

Let me give you some insight as a liberal. We have different concerns about the world we live in. Most of us on the left are in much higher tax brackets that Joe Citizen. I just spent 200$ on a pair of jeans for example. We worry about things like when we travel will there be a Starbucks? We are worried about the quality of staff at the hotels we stay in. There is nothing worse than unprofessional servants. Boston is great as well as DC because they use African immigrants to park cars. The foreigners are so much nicer than Americans. I mean my big gripe about Christmas was Starbucks being closed. I mean come one, surely we can find some poor slobs to at least come in at 10. Their poor kids can open their presents and they can be out the door soon after.

I agree with the cell phone issue. A lot of liberals actually have time that is valuable, so we need to be available 24/7. We don't have jobs with hard start and stop times, so when talking business and flying around it's important to be able to stay in touch.

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by subchaser12

Let me give you some insight as a liberal. We have different concerns about the world we live in. Most of us on the left are in much higher tax brackets that Joe Citizen. I just spent 200$ on a pair of jeans for example. We worry about things like when we travel will there be a Starbucks? We are worried about the quality of staff at the hotels we stay in. There is nothing worse than unprofessional servants. Boston is great as well as DC because they use African immigrants to park cars. The foreigners are so much nicer than Americans. I mean my big gripe about Christmas was Starbucks being closed. I mean come one, surely we can find some poor slobs to at least come in at 10. Their poor kids can open their presents and they can be out the door soon after.

I agree with the cell phone issue. A lot of liberals actually have time that is valuable, so we need to be available 24/7. We don't have jobs with hard start and stop times, so when talking business and flying around it's important to be able to stay in touch.

For some reason I find all of this to be the typical, unsubstantiated drivel you produce.

Next.

[subchaser12]

Originally Posted by Aramike

For some reason I find all of this to be the typical, unsubstantiated drivel you produce.

Next.

Unsubstantiated? Pfft, here is the link http://shop.nordstrom.com/C/789693/0...av&pbo=2374609

I assure you Nordstrom carries expensive jeans. I know you can't afford to shop there, but it's hardly "unsubstantiated".

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by subchaser12

Unsubstantiated? Pfft, here is the link http://shop.nordstrom.com/C/789693/0...av&pbo=2374609

I assure you Nordstrom carries expensive jeans. I know you can't afford to shop there, but it's hardly "unsubstantiated".

Wow, I'm impressed. You posted a link to the website of an upscale retailer. Incredible.

All sarcasm aside, I'm not suprised that you think such a link is substantiation. That would seem to fit into your little view of the world.

As for what I can afford, I doubt you'd know that. You're the idiot who thinks I left some "lucrative" retirement pension behind arbitrarily in the military.

I'm guessing that, at best, you were helping someone try those $200 jeans on. Better get your sewing kit out and hem those jeans, son.

Dance, puppet.

[subchaser12]

Originally Posted by Aramike

As for what I can afford, I doubt you'd know that. You're the idiot who thinks I left some "lucrative" retirement pension behind arbitrarily in the military.

I'm guessing that, at best, you were helping someone try those $200 jeans on. Better get your sewing kit out and hem those jeans, son.

Dance, puppet.

Tell me you own a pair of jeans that cost 200+ dollars.

Say it.

Go on.

We both know you don't. Sure you could afford it because even you probably has at least 200 in the bank, however you aren't allowed to drop that king of coin on jeans are you? Diesel only runs to size 36, can your waist even handle that? Hmmm?

The 20 year retirement is hardly lucrative, it's 50% of the crappy pay. You won't be retiring in the Hampton's on it. My point was someone who would waste 19 years of their life in the military would't waste just a few more months to get the little retirement check.

That's ok, we know you were *wink, *nod, *wink doing things you can't talk about there secret agent orange.

[Frame57]

Most liberals I know are unemployed and on welfare. They do not like programs that make them work. Not really sure why it seems this way unless all the pot they smoked as kids is having some type of effect later in life???

[subchaser12]

Originally Posted by Aramike

I've always considered myself a "centrist".

A centrist? How laughable. You made a thread attacking the left again. Look at the title of this thread, you're so right wing you make Pat Buchanon look like a libertarian.

[Aramike]

Originally Posted by subchaser12

A centrist? How laughable. You made a thread attacking the left again. Look at the title of this thread, you're so right wing you make Pat Buchanon look like a libertarian.

Umm, I know you're kinda, say, not smart, but being a centrist means that you don't necessarily agree with the left or right. As a result, I can say that left-wingers are idiots (and demonstrate as such, like Friedman and yourself) and still be a centrist.

Wow. How can these basic concepts escape such a mind as ... oh, wait, nevermind. Remembered who I was talking to.