How I got myself in trouble most recently

[kellinator]

So, I made a long rambling phone post yesterday, and rather than attempting to transcribe it, I'm going to attempt to write it out a little more clearly.

Or more than likely I'll get pissed again halfway through the writing and I'll just half-assedly throw it on the page to get it out of my system...

Yesterday afternoon I was getting back in my car after picking up some gaming treats to take to Athens and I saw two women getting out of a car. I had to squint to read the bumper sticker, it was all so shoved together:

10 out of 10 terrorists agree... Anybody But Bush

I started to just roll my eyes, get back in my car and play some loud music, but I figured they'd seen me, with my Kerry/Edwards bumper sticker, gawking at the car already, and, well, it's one thing to run my mouth on LiveJournal where I know that a lot of people agree with me, but have I really tried to make a real difference?

So I approached the car, and as politely as I could, I said, "Excuse me, ma'am, but if you're so certain that the terrorists don't want Bush, why is it that our one big terrorist attack came while he was in office?"

One woman looked like she might have been ready to at least offer some reasoning, but the other one, who was obviously in charge, snarled "Oh please!!" and stomped off. The other woman, who was mumbling something along the lines of "I don't really like him but..." looked at me semi-apologetically as I turned and yelled over my shoulder "A mind is a terrible thing to open!"

I then got in the car and left scarcrest a voicemail of which he later said, "I understood my name and that was about it."

...Was it the right thing to do? I don't know. All I know is that I felt that I had to say something, to at least attempt to start a dialogue. It's all very well to post links and rants here, but I don't think I'm making anyone think.

...At the same time, I seriously doubt I made them think, and I definitely raised my blood pressure, which is something I've been trying not to do during this election.

I don't know if there really can be open dialogue at this point anymore. We're too divided. And I include myself in that group. Certain things are like waving a red flag in front of me these days. I honestly don't understand how anyone could vote for Bush. And I suppose that makes me part of the problem.

Comments

Re: kellinate indeed...

[rocketmelee.livejournal.com]

I seem to recall something about reports on potential terrorist activity being ignored... but that's not really the point.

Is it a coincidence that this attack occurred when Bush was in office? Possibly. Do we have any reason to believe that Bush is the one and only thing standing between us and the terrorist masses? Absolutely not.

However, catchy slogans are a way of life. They are used to shape opinions and to demonstrate a common ideology among groups or subgroups. What Kelly did was earnestly question the veracity of a slogan in a manner intended to cause a particular root ideology to be questioned. When this happens, people will generally either walk away, or will look for something to attack. Or, you know, both.

It is still an important thing to do, though. In order to effect change in ideology and/or world view, you have to understand how to invalidate propaganda or use it to your best advantage.