[Vision2020] anti-Semitism

[Art Deco]

Re:  Douglas Wilson on Douglas Stambler, etc.

When DW called DS unstable and dangerous, it made my morning.  How ironic!

When a person uses ethnic humor, many of those who have studied the subject
claim that humor is a way of expressing one's real opinion without the risk
of being held to account the sentiments expressed.

In my experience many of those who used ethnic humor, when pressed admitted
to at least some negative, possibly ambivalent feeling toward the group they
were satirizing.

I cannot claim that this is always the case.  Humans are not always
predictable and their views may change from one hour to the next.

My personal interpretation is that ethnic humor generally masks some
prejudice and expresses some unspoken stereotyping that fails to recognize
individual differences.  In this assessment I could easily be wrong.  In my
experience I have found that denials of at least some prejudices are belied
sometimes by other evidence that comes forth at inconvenient times.  In the
present case, the jury may still be out.

Wayne Fox.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Douglas" <dougwils@moscow.com>
To: <>
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2003 9:13 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] anti-Semitism


> Morning, visionaries,
>
> We have to be careful lest a love-fest break out here, but I would like to
> thank Rose for coveting my tag line, and for saying publicly that in her
> view I am not an anti-Semite. She says also that if I were to display any
> of those tendencies she would hop on it like a fly on sugar. Let me say
> here that if I were to do any such thing, I cordially invite her to do so
> with enthusiasm.
>
> Thomas Bartnick believes that I have reviled Douglas Stambler, which I
> don't think is the case. Whatever the reason, Stambler is unbalanced, and
> in certain settings, he is dangerous. His current weapon of choice is
> slander, which he is spreading around the country at the speed of light.
> People here in Moscow know him and can discount what he is doing, but on
> the other side of the country, lies can be more credulously believed.
Since
> Stambler's choice of weapons is words, we answer with words. But please
> note, our use of polemics with regard to him is parry, not thrust. We are
> not trying to "get" him; we are simply defending ourselves.
>
> One of the reasons we need to do so is that others who have more apparent
> credibility (at least right now) have taken up the same kind of smears and
> tactics for spreading the smears (even though they should know better,
> Wayne). The sooner everybody sees this the better. You cannot act just
like
> Stambler and then not be associated with him. Wayne has joined a food
fight
> that was already in progress, and wants to keep his dignity by throwing
> only green jello while Stambler, clearly an unbalanced man, has opted for
> throwing the meat loaf and mashed potatoes. As far as I am concerned,
Wayne
> can explain the nuances of his position to the junior high principal, who
> is just outside in the hall.
>
> Wayne also says, "I didn't realize that denigrating ethnic humor was back
> in style. How naive of me." In my post yesterday, when I defined a joke as
> an entertainment for lesser-evolved primates, I forgot to mention that
> "jokes" are also something of an elementary puzzle, and that a certain
> response is called for from the hearer. This response is something that
> primitives used to call "getting it."
>
> One last thing. Although it is always great fun for liberals to play the
> race card, in this instance, you need to look both ways before you cross
> that street. I wonder how many racially-mixed families attend Christ
> Church? Check it out before you make accusations. We have all kinds -- 
> Scots, Irish, English, you name it.
>
> Official notice to humorless logicians: the penultimate paragraph of this
> post was a joke.
>
> Cordially,
>
> Douglas Wilson
>
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