Unity, Diversity, and Other Lies Leftists Tell

Of course rightwingers lie, too. Everyone lies. I just don’t feel like talking about those other folks today.

But you can handle it. You’re a grownup. Not like Those People.

Right?

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You talk about diversity, but you hate on everyone who doesn’t think like you.

“Just because I’m for diversity and accepting other people’s ideas doesn’t mean I have to be for everything. That doesn’t make sense.”

How do you define ‘acceptance’? Or ‘tolerance’?

“That’s another of those talking points….”

If so, it’s from you guys. You’ve been talking about it for at least fifty years. My ears are that old, and they heard the left going on and one about tolerance, diversity, not judging — that was a big one, “Don’t be judgemental!”

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When is someone who doesn’t think or believe as you do an example of someone who simply has a different opinion, and when is someone a Nazi?

Is it holding a belief?

Is it action?

Let’s say your old man said racist things. He never hurt a person not like him, never passed a person in need because of skin color, but around the house, he said vile shit about another group.

Should he be expelled from society?

Should be feel free to talk about his horrible feelings?

Back then, in the eighties, “Don’t be judgemental” came from the Oprah corner of our popular culture. If someone was gay, in particular, you as a non-gay person shouldn’t look down on them.

It makes sense. It’s behavior that is engaged by consenting adults. Abortion was something else you couldn’t judge. Prostitution.

Why is this so important? If I don’t impede someone’s life, why can’t I judge their actions, in private? Don’t I have that right?

In the eighties, when speech codes really came in, there was a lot of talk about judgement. And it wasn’t about liberals judging religious folks. Heck, no one even talked about Islam, because the liberals back then found it an oppressive religion.

That attitude didn’t change among the American left until after 9/11. Which is odd.

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…

You talk about ‘fascist.’ But everyone you don’t agree with is a fascist to you.

“That’s bull.”

Okay, let’s settle this. Tell me what you don’t believe in that you find acceptable, not fascistic, not racist, sexist, homophobic, Islamaphobic, all that.

“Go ahead.”

You’re pro-choice. You can accept people who aren’t?

“They’re anti-women’s health.”

So they’re sexist. And you can’t accept that.

“I mean — “

I indicated we were trying to work up a list of what’s okay that he doesn’t agree with.

You’re pro-choice. Is being pro-life acceptable?

“No.”

You’re pro-gay marriage. Is being against gay marriage, say, for civil unions, is that acceptable to you?

“No. That’s homophobic. I mean…”

You can accept someone who’s pro-gun, pro-2A as they call it now?

“No, guns are killing thousands of people. I see what you’re — “

You wanna do this or not?

What about being Islamic?

“I’m fine with that. I don’t care, doesn’t affect me.”

You have a thing against Christianity, though. Look at you smiling!

“Dude, you’re the most anti-church person I know!”

“I’m fine with anyone going to whatever church or whatever they like.”

School choice. The money going with the student.

“That’s gonna kill the public schools.”

What about people who don’t want, like it says in the bill…

I had to look it up. He did not look happy. This is why when we see each other at events, not often, I try not to talk about politics. He plays along, but he always starts, and you can hear groans, even from his wife.

“… may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

“You don’t think they’ll use that — “

This isn’t a debate about what I think. If someone believes that, ‘age appropriate’ —

“They don’t believe that, though, it’s a trick to get keeping talk about being gay or trans out of the school.”

Til grade three! And have you seen the online videos from teachers, crying because they can’t share THEIR EXPERIENCE with little KIDS?

“It’s bullshit.”

Okay, so you’re a free-thinking person who thinks anyone who disagrees with you on abortion, gay marriage, guns, religion, school choice, teaching sex to kids under the age of eight are fascists you can’t accept. You’re also for higher taxes, high corporate taxes, the Green New Deal, and anyone who disagrees with you on all that —

“Is a fucking MAGA asshole who…”

What if I don’t support BLM or Antifa?

“Then you’re a MAGA asshole, too!”

And a racist?

“Duh!”

Border security? Which stops countless people from being abused, raped, murdered by coyotes?

“Those people are trying to get here for a better life.”

There are laws. You expect all those evil corporations to follow laws. You call the cops if someone trespasses on your property.

“I suppose they’re all gangsters.”

You said that. I talked about the more than fifty percent of girls who get abused or worse coming here. And you’re all about Fauci, what about unaccounted for people coming over the border in a time of a deadly plague?

“Everyone you’ve just described is awful. All right? You haven’t mentioned one kind of difference that…”

You were telling me Biden’s going to ‘unite’ the country. You two are always going on about diversity, yet you both work for white-as-snow companies while I worked in social services, including where I was the only white male around.

It got even stupider after this.

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This is not a rare occurance. I live in one of the bluest areas of the United States. I’ve worked in retail, food service, social services and dozens of other jobs that bring me into a rainbow of humanity — poor, very very poor, working class, upper class, homeless, kids, the elderly. I’ve had people you would consider saints stab me in the back professionally for their own petty benefit. I’ve been told I should emulate the behavior of men who were getting sexual favors from woman in the worst situations. I’ve socialized with the most liberal white suburbanite you can imagine, and there is one thing the liberal democrats in my back yard have in common:

They hate anyone who isn’t a liberal democrat.

“But what about — “

Nope, not doing that bullshit. You can write about those people on your time. I might write about them here, someday. But those folks get trashed daily, hourly in this country, by people who hate them because they ‘hate,’ by people who claim to want ‘unity’ but only on their own terms. By that they mean it’s okay to have different views, so long as you don’t get to participate in this society.

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“I got your email. Best…”

His full response.

Hasn’t answered a call from me since.

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“Cambridge is incredibly diverse, though.”

On the surface. I’ve been living here a year and have yet to meet one person who doesn’t think Bush is Hitler, that we should all pay higher taxes, that the government should have oversight over what it’s okay to say and what is ‘hate speech.’

“Well, yeah.”

• Me and a very nice coworker who didn’t understand why I said Cambridge was the least-diverse place I’d lived in thirty-five years