Quite a bizarre, and most apropos, thought bomb that went off in my head as I woke this morning. I’m surprised it’s never occurred to others – we are talking of creatures that occupy the same neurological and psychological space after all.
"It's white guys dammit!" - Rebecca Watson & Louis Farrakhan: a marriage made in heaven
Still chuckling. If I need to explain it to those who don’t understand it, then they’re not very likely to be the kinds of folks amenable to understanding to begin with1. Pushed enough diarrhea uphill with a toothpick this week thank you very much. To use a Skepchick-Watsonism, you either get it or you don’t, duh.
1 – And when if you do work it out, remember, civilised, cosmopolitan folks are under no obligation to return a degree of respect any greater than that which they receive themselves. You might also remember the words of Thomas Jefferson –
“Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus.”
Every bit as applicable to modern secular quasi-religious derangements. I am pretty confident Jefferson would agree.
grey lining 
July 14, 2011 at 2:04 am
Rebecca needs an address where she can send this.
July 14, 2011 at 2:10 am
You should save your wit for people that are at least half of one. Raw ridicule is tempting, and no doubt warranted, but this type of stuff just feeds the martyr.
July 14, 2011 at 5:17 am
The simile feels a bit forced, though I sympathize with the impulse that is behind it.
Sadly, though, I must admit that the kind of mob mentality that underlies both positions bears more than a passing resemblance.
July 14, 2011 at 12:36 pm
Raimondo: I must admit that the kind of mob mentality that underlies both positions bears more than a passing resemblance.
Indeed it does. So does the fact that they behave more like congregations of one-eyed believers than communities of free minds, and that this is less a rational discussion than a holy Inquisition.
For all the braggadocio about rationality, skepticism and free thought, there isn’t a single clear thinker in the room – they’ve all been branded heretics, ejected, placed in stocks and had tomatoes thrown at them as the babble of the rabble drowns them out.
July 15, 2011 at 6:31 am
Watson seems to be on a holy war of sorts. Single-minded and armed with powers of excommunication (which she granted to herself by virtue of her own self-anointed powers), she has made clear that she will take no prisoners, and, as many others have said, will throw under the bus even Richard Dawkins, who is not even for a second considered a friend who disagrees, but a heretic who dares challenge Watson’s nightmarish parody of “feminism”.
This is a parody of atheism as well. From now on, christianists will be correct when they say that there are atheists out there who follow a religion of sorts. As a feminist male and an atheist myself, I am pissed beyond my power to express in words.
July 15, 2011 at 11:26 am
Raimondo, that’s more or less the conclusion of the blog preceding this one – and there is quite a pile of evidence accumulating to indicate that this is in fact just one part of a broader jihad. More evidence in fact than has been provided that the elevator guy actually even existed. Not that I deny “he” existed, just that there is zero conclusive evidence.
This, for the benefit of you folks in sensitiveland, is what benefit of the doubt looks like. As a rationalist and a skeptic, I am more than entitled to play the evidence or STFU card. I am content to pretend he is real for the purposes of these discussions, and assume Becky would never, ever fib to us. Magnanimity is my middle name.
July 15, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Here’s some more google search strings to compare for your amusement –
+rebecca +watson
+rebecca +watson -misogyny -misogynist -sexism -sexist -white
Try various combinations. Very enlightening.
July 15, 2011 at 1:06 pm
I too have wondered if this “elevator guy” actually exists. It would certainly be great to hear his side of the whole thing.
Starting from the assumption that he exists, one wonders: does Watson know who he is? Or could she find out? If she does find him, could she contact him, if nothing else to ask him if he will contribute his side of things, with a guarantee of anonymity?
Nah, that would mean that Watson knows the meaning of both “playing fair” and “open debate”. So far, she has given no proof that she does. All she seems after is a cheering mob in her favor, ready to pounce on and destroy any opposition.
July 15, 2011 at 1:59 pm
And blog hits. Never forget the blog hits. On a curious note, Greta Christina, Watson’s co-star in originally entrenching the atheist misogyny meme, also periodically indulges in PZ Myers baiting with argumentum ad regurgitātiō for the very same reason. What a tawdry word we live in.
July 16, 2011 at 3:24 am
Notice how Greta Christina keeps (incorrectly) writing “close-minded”, instead of the correct “CLOSED-minded”, as in “someone whose mind is CLOSED” to new knowledge and viewpoints — not “close” in its physical proximity, which is nonsensical.
Call me whatever one wishes, but my respect for someone’s intellectual integrity drops by a number of notches when I realize that they SYSTEMATICALLY misspell or misuse language (as opposed to an OCCASIONAL typo, which can happen to anyone). To me, that points to a lack of intellectual rigor and discipline, besides a lackadaisical attitude in regard to accuracy and precision, any of which one should heed as a warning.
July 19, 2011 at 12:23 am
The entire concept of open-mindedness has been mutilated beyond recognition as it is…usually just means “one who agrees with me”
July 19, 2011 at 12:43 am
And “freethought” now means “freedom from thinking”. Add pre-packaged ideology and infallible leaders beyond criticism and what do you have? Personality cults. We have little Kim Jong-ils and Pol Pots springing up and seizing control of centre stage telling us what despicable, abject subhumans we are and that there is only one true path to salvation – complete submission and surrender to the cult. Could you imagine what kind of re-education gulags we would have were someone like Watson to have absolute, totalitarian control, a la North Korea? Bet she gets a wide on thinking about it.
July 22, 2011 at 5:37 pm
[…] normally enabled, heterosexual male. There would be no audience. White males are a soft target that anyone can kick with impunity. There is no assembled mob to leap to their defense, the few voices that do get raised in protest […]