Well, first: yes, reversed stupidity is not intelligence. But you seem to be suggesting there's a common failure mode (tainting by association? I feel like there's a technical term for this) to the effect of
This might well be the case, but I'm curious how you arrived at "racist" as the sin which taints by association, rather than, say, "short-sighted" or "libertarian" or whatever. It's non-obvious how saying "'No more bailouts' is racist!" might be defended. Is it the case that OWS protestors have actually said this in so many words?
Edit: Also, incidentally, you might receive fewer downvotes if you avoided blanket statements like "It is always safe to love the left, and always safe to hate the right". In particular, I live in an area of the country where the reverse is true.
but I'm curious how you arrived at "racist" as the sin which taints by association, rather than, say, "short-sighted" or "libertarian" or whatever.
Because calling someone "racist" tends to be perceived as implying that they're not just mistaken but morally deficient if not out right evil. Something that's less true for "short-sighted" or "libertarian".
It's non-obvious how saying "'No more bailouts' is racist!" might be defended.
Something like this:
On reddit today I read 'the-Gandhi-quote' on a post about the Wall Street Occupation Protest:
"First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you.."
I'm transitioning, possibly, from the laughing stage and am beginning to feel the tiniest bit excited that perhaps some actual change is in order. On the one hand, I feel sufficiently skeptical about the probability of a 'revolution'. On the other hand, given how fast the world has been changing (the internet, gloablization), maybe change is inevitable and this is the way it happens now.
I know this is a rationality site, not a current affairs site, but when something tweaks my interest I like to know what "Less Wrong" thinks...waiting for a spontaneous post could take forever and finding a 'rationality-spin' would be disingenuous so I'll just ask:
What is possible and what is likely?
What factors are important?