An Online Presence for the Alleged SIXHIRB
Talk show host Dennis Prager coined the term SIXHIRB to describe a common American liberal argument. To quote Dennis himself:
...[N]early all Democratic and leftist reactions to conservatives and Republicans are to avoid argument ...and smear them as SIXHIRB, my acronym for “Sexist, Intolerant, Xenophobic, Homophobic, Islamophobic, Racist, Bigoted.” It is almost impossible to come up with the name of a leading conservative whom the dominant media have not dismissed as one or more of SIXHIRB — and usually as a buffoon as well. This obviously serves the left and the Democratic Party in many ways. But the most important is to keep non-leftists in fear of anyone who opposes the left. In effect, the left says, and has been saying for a hundred years, “You may not agree with us, but our opponents are evil.”
As a conservative myself, I am called these things on a regular basis when I post online. I like having an online presence, but admittedly, it is a hostile environment for conservatives. It's not an environment where people rationally discuss differences of opinions or worldviews.
Take YouTube or Facebook comments, for example, I can hardly remember the last time I saw a YouTube or Facebook comment opposing some liberal ideal (such as same-sex marriage, for example) that wasn't followed up by a slew of aggressive, character-smearing comments and name-calling from the other side.
I recently watched a YouTube debate that was well-organized and balanced with well-presented ideas on both sides. I looked through the comments taking note that not a single comment on the front page (at least 25 of them) expressed a conservative bias (or even took a neutral stance for that matter). I wondered "Am I the only conservative person who even watched this debate?" As an experiment, I wrote a comment acknowledging the quality of the debate and affirming both sides equally. As expected, within hours, I had comments vilifying my character and essentially shouting me down for daring to show respect to the conservative side of this debate.
From my experience as a conservative, many of those who profess to uphold "tolerance" are very quick to ridicule and even demonize those who disagree fundamentally. Attacking one's intentions and character (often using one or more names of SIXHIRB) is a convenient alternative to debating the ideas.
I once had a coworker who said "I can tolerate anything except intolerance." I am not sharp-witted enough to think of this response on the spot, but afterwards I thought of what I should have said: "So you and I have this in common: that we both are very picky about what we will tolerate and what we won't."
As a conservative, I sometimes wonder what kind of online presence I can have in this day and age. It seems quite apparent that most conservatives keep their thoughts to themselves instead of opening themselves up to the ridicule, name-calling, and condemnation that invariably follows from professing their honest stances on controversial issues. There is, admittedly, a strong temptation to do just that, and most of the time, I do take the path of least resistance. But at the same time, I do believe liberalism makes America worse, and by saying nothing (as most conservatives do) it feels as though I'd be standing by as the culture of the internet becomes increasingly more of an echo chamber for liberalism and atheism.
On the other hand,... how many people have experienced any sort of life change from reading a YouTube comment?
...[N]early all Democratic and leftist reactions to conservatives and Republicans are to avoid argument ...and smear them as SIXHIRB, my acronym for “Sexist, Intolerant, Xenophobic, Homophobic, Islamophobic, Racist, Bigoted.” It is almost impossible to come up with the name of a leading conservative whom the dominant media have not dismissed as one or more of SIXHIRB — and usually as a buffoon as well. This obviously serves the left and the Democratic Party in many ways. But the most important is to keep non-leftists in fear of anyone who opposes the left. In effect, the left says, and has been saying for a hundred years, “You may not agree with us, but our opponents are evil.”
As a conservative myself, I am called these things on a regular basis when I post online. I like having an online presence, but admittedly, it is a hostile environment for conservatives. It's not an environment where people rationally discuss differences of opinions or worldviews.
Take YouTube or Facebook comments, for example, I can hardly remember the last time I saw a YouTube or Facebook comment opposing some liberal ideal (such as same-sex marriage, for example) that wasn't followed up by a slew of aggressive, character-smearing comments and name-calling from the other side.
I recently watched a YouTube debate that was well-organized and balanced with well-presented ideas on both sides. I looked through the comments taking note that not a single comment on the front page (at least 25 of them) expressed a conservative bias (or even took a neutral stance for that matter). I wondered "Am I the only conservative person who even watched this debate?" As an experiment, I wrote a comment acknowledging the quality of the debate and affirming both sides equally. As expected, within hours, I had comments vilifying my character and essentially shouting me down for daring to show respect to the conservative side of this debate.
From my experience as a conservative, many of those who profess to uphold "tolerance" are very quick to ridicule and even demonize those who disagree fundamentally. Attacking one's intentions and character (often using one or more names of SIXHIRB) is a convenient alternative to debating the ideas.
I once had a coworker who said "I can tolerate anything except intolerance." I am not sharp-witted enough to think of this response on the spot, but afterwards I thought of what I should have said: "So you and I have this in common: that we both are very picky about what we will tolerate and what we won't."
As a conservative, I sometimes wonder what kind of online presence I can have in this day and age. It seems quite apparent that most conservatives keep their thoughts to themselves instead of opening themselves up to the ridicule, name-calling, and condemnation that invariably follows from professing their honest stances on controversial issues. There is, admittedly, a strong temptation to do just that, and most of the time, I do take the path of least resistance. But at the same time, I do believe liberalism makes America worse, and by saying nothing (as most conservatives do) it feels as though I'd be standing by as the culture of the internet becomes increasingly more of an echo chamber for liberalism and atheism.
On the other hand,... how many people have experienced any sort of life change from reading a YouTube comment?
Comments
Post a Comment