Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to McFly...

When a remark applies to the things I believe, or to the groups with which I affiliate, it applies to me.
Mary Anne — (archived)

The way the game is played:

One side makes blanket remarks about a large group of people, as: "Liberals are friends to terrorists." Or: "Liberals are thieves who assault honest citizens with taxes." Or: "Liberals are soft on child molesters." Or, my personal favorite from the early days of the Iraq War: "Liberals are giving aid and comfort to the enemy" (the legal definition of "treason").

The follow-up to an actual liberal who expresses annoyance, offense or outrage is "but I didn't mean you". The reply implies one of three things.

One: You are not really a liberal. The speaker is saying that your thoughts are shallow or your commitment to your principles is rootless.

Two: You are too stupid to understand you have aligned yourself with criminals, which, of course, all liberals are according to the definition set forth in the opening salvo. See also the expression "useful idiots".

Three: The original speaker is engaging in a cynical strategy: punch liberals in the eye by making outrageous claims and then soothe the individual opponent by offering him a cookie. You can't be mad at someone who has offered you a cookie, can you? So the offended person is silenced by confused emotions, temporarily. "He said something dreadful and false about people I identify with, but then he was nice to me... Maybe I should be nice back." The criticism of the group (to which he still belongs) is allowed to stand. Until the next time. You can only be hit in the eye so many times before the cookie becomes less appealing.

Think of it this way:
-Catholics enable child sex abuse... but I didn't mean you.
-People over 50 are temperamentally and intellectually unable to deal with the modern world and ought to be forcibly retired... but I didn't mean you.
-People who put up with abusive familial relationships when they could leave are idiots who don't deserve any help... but I didn't mean you.

Because it throws you off and clouds your thoughts, it's the faint praise that damns the most.

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