Oxymoron Alert

[shipperx]

Speechless.  Rendered without speech.

I just...  [Tyrion bitchslap gif]

12 Years a Slave just won the Oscar for best picture, and a conservative pundit has to complain:

From The American Spectator:

"If ever in slavery’s 250-year history in North America there were a kind master or a contented slave, as in the nature of things there must have been, here and there, we may be sure that Mr McQueen does not want us to hear about it. This, in turn, surely means that his view of the history of the American South is as partial and one-sided as that of the hated Gone With the Wind."


Dude, you do 'get' that slavery is owning another person, right?  There may be varying levels of direct physical abuse on a case-by-case basis but there is no such thing as benign slavery. The social and economic system that depends on it is, was, and will forever be evil at its core!

Also, the book from which the screenplay was adapted was written by the actual man who was forced into slavery for 12 years.  It was non-fiction!

Comments

[ceciliaj.livejournal.com]

Shudder.

[usedtobeljs]

See icon for my reaction to this pundit.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

...

...

...Wow.

Also, how do I hate the "We must be IMPARTIAL and present BOTH SIDES equally no matter what the topic is" meme, let me count the ways...

(Over here, the major (state-owned) media concern just decided that in the name of objective impartiality, being openly anti-racist is grounds for dismissal, since we now have racist parties in parliament whose opinions must be treated with respect. Just the other day, the freaking NAZI PARTY got to present their case unopposed on national radio. Because impartial.)

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

In "Lies My Teacher Told Me" there's a mention by the author that racism arises when people don't want to think of themselves as being unjustified or as being the bad guy in a scenario. In a system such as slavery, refusing to recognize the unambiguous evil of it requires manufacturing reasons that it's 'okay' (see: "kind master" and (gag!) "contented slave" meme. *SPIT*)

Such rationalization should not be tolerated.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Excellent point, and creepily up-to-date. Sometimes I wonder if the only thing we've learned from 60-70 years of consensus that "fascism BAD" and "racism BAD" is to treat both words (and words like "sexism" and "homophobia" aren't far behind) like insults that don't actually mean anything.

"I'm all for equality, but that [member of disenfranchised group] is calling [member of non-disenfranchised group] names! ...See what those [slur]s are like?"

There's a very straight line to be drawn from the "benign" slaver to the politician calling for "polite" disagreement, or the neo-fascist party putting "democrat" in their name.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

And the "political correct" whine.

Whenever someone whines about "political correctness" it's inevitably a whine about people censuring the whiner for bigotry, sexism, racism, asshatedness, etc. Rather than complaining about 'political correct' it's actually "Don't make me feel embarrassed of being an asshole!"

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

And the latest incarnation of that, the "Alright, I apologize for my unfortunate word choice" whenever someone gets called out for saying something -ist (all the rape-and-abortion debates last year, for instance). Which serves a neat double purpose: the people who agree with them heard them the first time and know what they really meant, and at the same time they get to paint the "politically correct" critics as oversensitive crybabies who just care about wording, as opposed to what the words actually mean.

ETA: "Sorry not PC"

[shapinglight]

Yeurch!

[sunnyd-lite.livejournal.com]

I guess they didn't bother to watch the movie b/c there was a depiction of the 'benign' master, who listened to his slave's opinions and casually split up families.

So his argument means his comprehension skills suck.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

One of the most heartbreaking slave accounts I ever read was an old woman in the late 19th century remembering how she had been sold away from her mother when she was only 10 years old, and how she had run away... not to freedom but to the old plantation just to see her mother, only to be dragged back (and never to see her mother again).

Think of a very small child ripped unwillingly from her mother, and the 'benign' myth becomes very, very apparent. There's nothing but evil in that, even if there were no physical abuse.

[silverusagi]

Yeah, they even discuss it in the movie! (paraphrase)

"Under the circumstances--"
"Under the circumstances, he is a slaver!!"

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Aw, this guy has been watching Gone With The Wind on a loop, hasn't he?

There's no talking to the stupid AND crazy. It's what makes America great!

[rahirah]

I try to remember that all conservatives are not evil, but people like this one make it REALLY REALLY hard.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Oh, for fuck's sake.