Comments on: Rod Dreher needs a little perspective

By: Doesn’t Quite Have That Cesar Chavez Feel To It « Around The Sphere

Doesn’t Quite Have That Cesar Chavez Feel To It « Around The Sphere — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:33:13 +0000

[...] Freddie at The League on Dreher: Here’s a little counterfactual for you. Suppose the CEO of a retail chain that is predominantly patronized by cultural conservatives published an op/ed in which he announced his support for abortion rights. Then suppose some of the customers of his chain decided to boycott because they were opposed to abortion. Would Rod Dreher write a post like this? [...]

By: Defending Whole Foods - Hip Hop Republican

Defending Whole Foods - Hip Hop Republican — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 01:47:33 +0000

[...] Freddie DeBoer thinks all the harping on the right about this (in this case a blog post by Rod Dreher) is [...]

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 16:13:40 +0000

The line, “Rod Dreher needs a little perspective”, should appear before everything Rod Dreher writes.

By: Mark Thompson

Mark Thompson — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:16:36 +0000

JL – thanks. That’s useful information.

By: JL Wall

JL Wall — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:51:54 +0000

Point taken, but limited by the fact that Mackey wasn’t opposing improved health coverage; he was proposing an alternative means to get there. A pro-choice CEO and his pro-life customer base, on the other hand, would be rather severely opposed: one wants to allow abortion, the other does not. So I do reserve the right to think that the Whole Foods boycotters are using a far faultier logic (and, with respect to that aspect of it, more deserving of criticism) — their target didn’t say, “Everything’s fine and dandy with health care,” but, “We need to improve and expand coverage; here’s my idea of what might work; let’s talk.”

And Mark: for what little it’s worth, there’s a pro-boycott Facebook group that’s at 9,000 strong and growing. (I was bored waiting for the “Mad Men” premiere last night.)

By: Freddie

Freddie — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 13:20:35 +0000

I’m operating under the assumption that neither meme is true.

By: Cascadian

Cascadian — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:54:26 +0000

The problem is there always seems to be more rubes than sneering elites, regardless of the comparative ease of either camp, at any given time.

By: E.D. Kain

E.D. Kain — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:36:29 +0000

Could it be that subconsciously there is more of an aversion to “rubes or unsophisticated” people than there is to “sneering elites?” Just a thought. I mean, perhaps those rubes actually don’t like to think of themselves as rubes. Maybe in their circles they actually think of themselves as pretty savvy, on the ball, with some good ideas. Certainty ignores facts, after all. Whereas the people who are tarnished as elites – well – maybe they don’t like to be called names, but hey, if you’re going to be called a name it may as well be “elite” right? In other words, maybe they take offense to the “sneering” bit more than they do to being called elitists, since on some level they actually do think of themselves that way. Whereas the rubes don’t.

Something to consider in any case, regardless of the merits of either claim.

By: Freddie

Freddie — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:28:06 +0000

I mean something more specific. It’s not a question of conservatives not questioning stupid things conservatives, it’s a question of knee-jerk reactions to political activism by one side or another. And I think the divide is centered on which side gets to wage unapologetic cultural war. The key here is that these are Whole Food customers, and more, the cultural baggage we are meant to associate with them. It comes back to Sarah Palin and Barack Obama, really. To openly consider Palin or her supporters rubes or unsophisticated was off-limits in a way that it wasn’t if you consider Obama and his supporters sneering elites. Both sides engage in unfortunate stereotyping, but one side is permitted to do it openly.

By: E.D. Kain

E.D. Kain — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:18:56 +0000

In all fairness, Freddie, though I see where you’re coming from, there are nevertheless a lot of conservatives out there who have piped up in opposition to numerous stupid things other conservatives do. I realize you’re aware of this, and that you’re speaking more in terms of the mainstream, but I thought I should point it out.