26 May 2011

Video of the week -- liberal Texas



TV news stages a display of bigotry in the city of Farmers Branch, TX, to observe bystanders' reactions -- with results that challenge stereotypes of the state (found via Preliator pro Causa).

7 Comments:

Blogger Leslie Parsley said...

Choking up here. Wow.

26 May, 2011 15:54  
Blogger okjimm said...

great video... serves as a reminder that prejudice is rampant.....
back in 2004 was working with an out of state dude doing door-to-door for Kerry Edwards. Told him to meet me at a bar on the south side (working class neighborhood) when I got there he said the bar would not serve him because he had a Dem button on.. and I said "fuck that shit" it was an inter5esting nigh.... kudos to the guy in the baseball hat... sometimes right is just plain right..

26 May, 2011 16:49  
Blogger Robert the Skeptic said...

I'm wondering if the differences in responses from the public between small town Texas and NYC might be the relative anonymity of living within a large urban population versus the more "communal" atmosphere of a small town?

We hear stories of people being mugged or in medical emergencies in cities being ignored, for example... that "I don't want to get involved" syndrome. Perhaps this accounts for the difference in whether third-parties feel compelled to step up to the place during incidents of adversity. Interesting sociological experiment.

26 May, 2011 20:53  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

LP: It's encouraging.

Okjimm: Though not as rampant as we thought, apparently.

RtS: Possibly, although Farmers Branch is part of the DFW metroplex, which is also a pretty big urban area. It would be interesting to try this in a variety of settings around the country.

27 May, 2011 03:13  
Blogger okjimm said...

I had to come back and watch that again.
I am old enough to remember anti-catholic sentiment when I was growing up (neighbor kid couldn't play with us 'cause we were Catholic)
... and I thought that went away.

My Grandmother,(old German immigrant) had a deep bias against Native Americans (grew up near a reservation)... and I thought racial discrimination was going away.

It seems that it is still around... that there is a whole class of folks that HAS to find another group to discriminate against.

Things are better.. in some areas significantly, but it is still all around us. They last 'brand' of conservatives seem bent on bringing back religious intolerance, racial discrimination, sexual stereo-typing.
Sometimes it depresses me. Good thing there is beer.

27 May, 2011 08:38  
Blogger Shaw Kenawe said...

My niece and her partner raised two perfectly well-adjusted girls, both of whom recently graduated from college with honors and are working in fulfilling jobs.

Acceptance was difficult for the older relatives, but when they, over the years, observed my niece's and her loving partner's devotion to those girls, and the lively, intellectually stimulating environment they created for them, all fears melted away and full acceptance to this non-traditional family followed. It's just a non-issue now.

I had fun recently when they invited me to a dance where I and one other woman were the only straight females there. I had a great time, and danced myself silly with anyone who asked me to.

27 May, 2011 12:04  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

Okjimm: Fortunately, there is a category of people we can all legitimately feel superior to: bigots.

SK: In my experience, this is the most effective path to the eradication of prejudice -- getting to know people as individuals, after which efforts to demonize them just fall flat.

28 May, 2011 04:57  

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