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:
Note, the above argument is by no means the most absurd argument I've seen for why something is racist.
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?