[Dean's World] Dave Price: Blogging and Bigotry

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Posted by Dave Price:
Blogging and Bigotry
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1172697392.shtml


   Well, Dean has started quite a controversy with his ultimatum the
   other day. I feel partly responsible, as some bigoted remarks in the
   comments to one of my posts may have been partially responsible for
   instigating this imbroglio (though I was gratified to see the regulars
   quickly take the offenders to task). Here are my thoughts on the
   subject.
   When it comes to issues like this, I am a universalist. My view is
   that in any group of people, regardless of race or creed, the vast
   majority would prefer to live in freedom (even if they themselves
   sometimes do not realize it), and to the extent they do not have such
   freedom or profess not to want it, this is because a small elite is
   controlling their environment with dishonest propaganda, effectively
   brainwashing them. This is as true for atheist Communists as it is for
   radicalized Muslims.
   So from this perspective, I generally agree with all of Dean's points
   in principle, and I think most people should. Most of the points are
   too obviously correct to need much discussion, but let me touch on a
   couple that might be a bit contentious for some people.
   Should Muslims bear an extra burden to prove their loyalty to Western
   ideals? I think we should agree they should certainly not â but at the
   same time, we should not ignore or excuse [1]behavior we would not
   accept from those of other persuasions. (I have a personal litmus test
   for such situations that I call "the Amish test" -- would this
   behavior be acceptable if the Amish were doing it? As the Amish are
   generally associated with peaceful Luddism, this exercise tends to
   decouple the situation from the political morass that discussions of
   religion have become.)
   Should the terms taqqiya and dhimmi be banned from discussion? I donât
   think so, myself. I think theyâre generally irrelevant in a modern
   context, and that their importance has been vastly overstated by
   people like Robert Spencer, but on the other hand by the very act of
   banning words we give those words power over us. (And we've certainly
   had some fun mocking such concepts here.)
   I would rather see bigotry discussed and discredited, lest we fall
   into the morally murky trap of the MSM, which simply censors nearly
   anything that might offend certain groups. The popularity (indeed, the
   necessity) of Charles Johnson is directly attributable to this
   attitude, just as Fox News' domination can be attributed to fact the
   MSM shuns certain viewpoints.
   In the past, Dean has been very open about accepting diverse opinions
   that disagreed with his own (Have Aziz and I ever agreed on anything?
   But I think we were both enriched by the discussion). Itâs one of the
   things Iâve liked best about DW. So I hope Ron and Kevin and others
   wonât be leaving, but of course at the end of the day, it is, after
   all... Deanâs World.

References

   1. http://www.townhall.com/columnists/column.aspx?UrlTitle=me_and_julio_down_by_the_schoolyard&ns=MikeSAdams&dt=02/28/2007&page=1