Who cares if they hate us? (Scripting News) — I would normally post a comment on a blog other than my own but in this instance the readers of this weird essay were told to blog it since comments were turned off. Ok, whatever. I found this to be an interesting essay because it exposed more than a few bigoted attitudes about Palin, the Southern States, the “fly-overs” and probably a few other groups. It was out-and-out contempt for any American who was not over-educated and well-traveled. I was embarrassed to read it. But the real kicker is within this excerpt.
But I’ve decided I don’t care if they [Americans in the red states] hate me or not. After all, they say that we as Americans shouldn’t care whether people outside the United States hate us. So why should I care if they hate me?
Another reason they [Americans in the red states] probably hate me, though few have the guts to say it openly, is that I’m Jewish. Many of them don’t like immigrants. I was born in the US, but my parents weren’t. I’m as much an American as any of them are, but I’ll never agree with their paranoia about immigration.
They act as if they’re [Americans in the red states] the only ones who die in our wars or pay taxes or do hard or meaningful work. They feel pretty sorry for themselves. They didn’t care a bit for NY until it provided them with an excuse to hate other people. Shit, you would think they would applaud the act of terrorism that destroyed the twin towers and all those New Yorkers! I’ve never figured that one out. I thought they hated liberals who live in NY?
Let me get this straight, Dave. You have not figured out why some bloke in Kansas wasn’t applauding — APPLAUDING? — when NYC was attacked on 9-11? I cannot believe you have apparently zero connection with the public-at-large, red state or blue to even suggest this befuddlement. Seriously, you should be ashamed of yourself for this. Ashamed.
And this bigoted rant ended up on Huffington? Unbelievable.
“Many of them don’t like immigrants.” It’s illegal immigrants you dumb ass. Illegal get it. We know America is made of immigrants and we are all descendants of them. We would like immigrants to learn English and assimilate a little. We might not like liberals may even hate some but we never wanted any of them dead.
His arrogance and bigoted, narrow-mindness is, unfortunately, to be found all over the web. I do think that HUFFPost encourages this sort of counterproductive polemic.
HEY! Why try to make a contribution to sollving a problem WHEN YOU CAN RANTRANTRANTRANT!
First you say you are an American, then you show completely you have no idea what America is about. No wonder some of us consider you an outsider.
>> Another reason they [Americans in the red states] probably hate me, though few have the guts to say it openly, is that I’m Jewish.
Well Dave until you posted this I newer knew or cared you were Jewish.
I don’t hate you, the liberals or conservatives. I don’t always agree with you or the others but I expect you to have your opinion and to feel free to state it.
>> Many of them don’t like immigrants.
Sorry, don’t care. I feel sorry for the illegal immigrants because of the situation they find them selves in. A lot of businesses, rich people and wanna be rich people want there status left alone because they get to exploit cheap labor and don’t have to pay taxes on them. I want a legal and easy way to come here to work or become a citizen if they wish.
I am always surprised at the number of so called ‘liberal’ thinkers that equate legal and illegal immigrants with the same status. I have never met anyone who hates immigrants no matter what their original country or religious views are.
I personally think your a self centered, narrow minded, arrogant ass but I would fight for your right to be a jerk!
I really hope John packages up all of these comments and sends them to Mr. Winer!
Well, he’s showing his thumb, but I’m giving him a finger.
Dave, I’ll bet you $100 there are more immigrants in my neighborhood than in yours.
I was only familiar with Dave from appearances on TWiT, but I’ve lost any respect I had for him.
Me thinks he thinks to much.
He’s always been an attention whore. Maybe it’s time to move to Atom just out of principle.
Oh, I don’t know. It’s wacko, but not so much more wacko than what I read in this blog most days. Just from the other side.
Dave needs to know the difference between travelling and meeting people.
One will make you an eltist, the othe will make you wise.
I wonder how many people he spoke to in all these “flyover states”.
#8 Methinks he doesn’t think enough.
Maybe he just felt like he needed to live up to name… ;^) Seriously, this is worse than embarrassing. It’s destructive.
Dave Winer actively blocks and deletes comments on his blog if they conflict in the slightest with his distorted views. He also frequently complains if someone responds with a different view on his twitter account.
Hey Dave, if you can’t take the heat, then get out of the kitchen.
I thought Winer was a jerk when he was on TWiT and this just proves it. I’m born and raised in Indiana and nothing he said describes me or anyone I know or grew up with. Oh, and guess what? I’m ABD on my PhD but shucks I guess my education doesn’t count for much because it was from midwestern colleges.
“They didn’t care a bit for NY until it provided them with an excuse to hate other people” And you know what? No one on the coasts gives a shit about the rest of the country. They think that NY and CA are the center of the world. When there was a blackout in NYC for a few hours it was news for weeks. When millions in the midwest are without power for weeks it barely gets mentioned.
Then he goes off on losing manufacturing jobs and needing a handout. What? I didn’t know that Middle America was the banking center of the country.
As for Obama caring what the middle of the country thought well maybe that’s because he happens to be living in one of those “flyover” states.
I don’t have him because I’m in a flyover state. I dislike him because every time I hear anything from him it is him being a jerk.
Pompous ass.
This is what happens when you become enamored of yourself. You become arrogant and condescending to others.
In his believed worldliness, he has in-fact isolated himself from the people he himself hates. He has projected his own hate upon them.
(Interestingly enough, Mr. Winer seems to further isolate himself in the millionaire’s enclave of Woodside, CA)
Where is his understanding of others? Compassion for those less fortunate? Tolerance of views not his own?
His thinking is small, childish and selfish. Many “intellectuals” are afflicted thusly.
How remarkably provincial. This smug groupthink is a growing problem, and it’s the rabid “blue staters” (funny how they’re the ones who need to define differences) who are the most divisive. I currently live in flyover country, having grown up in the Southern suburbs of the Nation’s capital and gone to grad school in Cambridge, I now live in Texas. Guess what was the most racist place I’ve lived? Yup, Massachusetts. Texas is by far the most tolerant. Winer is very provincial and possibly paranoid.
I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Compared to Ann Coulter or Michael Moore, this guy is about as close to center as they come.
And plenty of people DO dislike (“hate” may be too strong a word) others because they are Jewish.
Plenty of people DO hate other because they’re immigrants, legal or otherwise. Sure, they mayh have no problem with people from Switzerland, or Austrian barons. Try legal Mexican, Haitians, or Puerto Ricans (who are already legal citizens to begin with).
I think this guy is goring a few too many favorite oxen in this “rant”, and some part of it is bound to offend everyone.
I guess that’s the risk you run when you don’t pander to your party.
I guess he won’t be running for vice president anytime soon.
Well, who has won the past two elections by playing on the “he is an elitist” card? He has a college degree and drinks chardonay! He doesn’t respect “small town Amereica!”
How much of this crap should anyone who actually enjoys wine ((certainly not chardonay–but decent wine, you know?)) take before enough is enough?
This is just a good objective verbalized demonstration of a reasonable backlash to the politics of hate readily engaged in by the Repuglican Party.
Is Winer Correct?—about as much as the Repuglicans which is not much at all, but it is totally rational and expected.
Dear Mr. Winer,
As a resident for more than 55 years of several different areas of “flyover country,” let me just say I don’t hate you or your education or your cosmopolitan travels. I do, however, find you extremely ANNOYING! I know and have known lots of well educated and well informed, culturally sophisticated people, some religious, some not, some Jewish, some Christian, some Muslim, some “Other”, and even some as paranoid as you, though few as annoyingly, self-centeredly so. Come down off your high horse and meet people with some humility — don’t fear them, don’t prejudge them — you might find some lovely people where you least expected. Meanwhile, think about this: perhaps it is your attitude toward them that people hate — that attitude that says anyone not born within earshot of the bells of St. Patrick’s or who doesn’t know where Figueroa Street is or who has never traded japes with the Wine Steward at Alioto’s on Fisherman’s Wharf is a rube, a bumpkin, a bigot and not to be trusted. How in the world could the U.S. have become such a great nation and remained so for so long if well over half her population were so awful?
Buzz off! You’re giving Secular Humanism a bad name!
My goodness, you all act like people on the internet are the best debaters and pundits in the known world and thus this is some sort of horrible surprise. He expressed his opinion, some of which is on the cantankerous side, some of which is just whining and some of it that makes a widely divergent point.
He’s just using standard inflammatory rhetoric about those that, from his point of view, are not seeing the forest for all those pesky trees. I’m only surprised he didn’t bring up Nazis at some point.
While I can agree with the fact that many people in this country don’t seem to always want to make the right decisions when it comes to our leadership and where we’re going, I don’t believe it’s from hatred or other angst-inducing reasons as this fellow seems to believe. I honestly believe it’s from naivete and dishonesty from those they (and we) listen to for answers.
We, and I mean 100% of Americans, cannot make informed decisions on EVERYTHING that goes on. I do not know which is the best path to energy independence for us — or even the best person to be the shadow senator/representative for DC. I can only go by information gathered from those who know more about it than I do.
Which is what every single American does, including red, blue or green states. Pundits seem to have this impression in their heads that if you don’t ALWAYS make informed decisions you MUST be a dunce, and thus hate them or whatever flavor of the day.
And that is why I tend to ignore most of the internet pundit rhetoric for what it is — mindless masturbation.
I’m sure his orgasm was very nice.
You know what i have an illness too. But apparently his messed with his brain. what a dumb rant whatever your political outlook on life is. Maybe he should try listening to other veiws and people. He might actually learn someing.
He seems to have something strongly in common with the people he loathes.. an “us vs. them” mentality. I live in a “red state” and have all my life. I’m an atheist, which is pretty rare around here, but that hasn’t kept me from making good friends. I’m a liberal by most accounts, less rare around here, but definitely in the minority. I’m not saying I don’t get in some pretty heated debates about these things, but I’m far from shunned in my community. I’m really not that different from the folks I live around. You’ve got a choice, to primarily notice the differences, or the similarities. I tend towards the latter because it keeps me happier. Some people ain’t happy unless they’ve got an enemy though. Sounds like he might be one of those guys.
On a side note, I was always afraid of New York until I actually went there. It was awesome! I sure am glad I put my prejudices aside, look at what I would have missed had I not.
Dave said. “Another reason they probably hate me, though few have the guts to say it openly, is that I’m Jewish”
“and I practice no religion”
Ed said.
Now I aint got much education and I live in Indiana but…. how is one jewish and have no religion???
From wiki-whatever:
“Mixed parentage: i.e. whether a person of mixed Jewish and non-Jewish parentage should be considered Jewish.”
and:
“Those born Jewish do not lose that status because they cease to be observant Jews, even if they adopt the practices of another religion”
So this means obams is muslam
I’m in no way surprised the Huff Post published this. They probably thought it was “edgy.”
And then why do so many red states like Michael Savage? Yeah, Jewish argument is shot to hell. Next.
Does the author actually believe his own crap?
It’s been a few years since I lived and worked in the Deep South. Winer’s description sounds exactly like what I saw and heard and experienced, though.
At Mardi Gras in New Orleans, there was the delightful addition of stereotypes of Italians to the stereotypes of Blacks and Jews.
Our nutball dunces know so little American history they apparently don’t know membership in the KKK required hatred of Catholics as well as Blacks and Jews.
But, that all seems to have vanished into the fog of right wing PC shucking and jiving since the Republicans took over “official” racism from the Democrats starting with Nixon.
What’s the difference between these red and blue states? On his map they don’t look like the states of the US? As someone who’s not american, I’m confused. Does it mean liberal and conservative?