Reflections, Reflections

Another good analysis from Justin Katz on the politics of labeling (conservative Christians):

Communicating with the 'Faces of Hate'

"It is YOU YOU YOU YOU who cause the suffering and harm."

Closing a recitation of the deepest hurts — beatings, suicides, depression — in a blog commenter's life, the above quotation resonates threateningly even through the gauze of anonymity that the Internet provides. The reason, beyond its discomfiting hysteria, is that the accusation is leveled not at a lifelong nemesis, or even an acquaintance, but at a stranger with the audacity to offer his opinion in a forum intended for and visited by those of a disagreeing worldview. In some circles, such is the collective guilt of conservative Christians that an individual can be held responsible for decades of suffering among people whom he has never met.

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In a letter to the paper the following day, professor of English and film studies John Leo expressed his "sense of shame that [Nelson] will soon be credentialed by URI." In Leo's eyes, the only way in which Nelson might cleanse himself of the stain that "clearly marks [him] as an ignorant bigot," would be to follow up with an essay about how the African AIDS policies of "the Bush administration and the Catholic Church . . . are contributing to the unconscionable killing of hundreds of thousands of people."

A few editions later, library and film studies professor Michael Vocino described the notion that Professor Leo might have been "trying to 'exchange ideas' with the student" as laughable. Simply put, commentaries such as Nelson's "cause murder, beatings, humiliation and more for LGBT community members." Leo's reaction, therefore, was a model for the "passion" with which professors should speak to their students. Especially a certain type of student:

The student in question is a fundamentalist Christian and believes in a literal interpretation of the Bible. He has stated that outright in classes, private and public conversations and implies as much in his many columns.

The classification is offered as if, once proven, it is decisive regarding the respect that the student is due. The "fundamentalist Christian" tag marks Nelson as a member of a class that deserves none of the allowances or even courtesies that other identity groups enjoy. Gone is the presumption of extenuating circumstances; the young man's right to comity has been expended by definition. Nelson is among the "faces of hate," in Vocino's words. "Please don't be fooled by them," he exhorts, stating as incontrovertible fact that an "exchange of ideas" is the "last thing they are interested in."

Perhaps the most disquieting quality of conservative Christians' designation as an unprotected class is that it finds such high currency among professionals who ought to know better. Humanities professors have practically made a grammatical Truth of language's ability to dehumanize and disqualify, making violence against individuals appear less culpable.

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"It is YOU YOU YOU YOU who cause the suffering and harm."

Liberal/leftwing ideology is so problematic because it is constructed upon an extreme Manichean world and people division. The division itself is already ridiculous, but it has become nothing more than a blame-them-while-never-holding-us-accountable-for-anything game. It gets so extreme that one could call it a cult. Both liberals and conservatives cause suffering and harm in the world, but I see liberals generally adopting the most extremely arrogant, unconscientious attitudes about themselves and others.

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Update May 14

By coincidence, La Shawn blogged about something related: Liberals Hate The Word ‘Liberal.’

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