My Response to a Wingnut

POSTED BY JHW22

After a long back-and-forth with a Republican who showed no grasp of facts or staying on a subject, I was done with the jerk. But then he had to bring up ACORN, the Black Panthers and something else (which I'm not about to go back to check on for fear of blowing my top). To that I responded the following -- which you are free to copy and paste as needed:

OK, so I was about to counter each one of your questions regarding ACORN and the Black Panthers, etc. But then I realized that you are a member of the party of personal responsibility so you should take responsibility and do your own research. I can tell you that I know the answers to all of those questions and I can tell you that the answers are not what Fox wants you to think they are. You will be so disappointed.

So I am not going to do the legwork for you, you should be a grown-up enough to handle that on your own. But I will give you some big tips (they're good ones so write them down):

1) When you see multiple sites support a claim, make sure the multiple sites don't use the exact same language. If you find 5 sites that pick up the same exact text, it only counts as one site.

2) Check dates. You may think you're reading something new, when in fact the story may have taken place earlier and is being presented as something it isn't. Make sure you know who was President during the events in question (this is especially helpful on the Black Panther case).

3) Check parties involved for conflicts. Just because someone USED to be a liberal Democrat, doesn't mean they still are. So don't let labels (because I know you don't like them) sway you into accepting what they say as fact.

4) Don't rely on articles. Check court documents, press releases, financial statements, interviews, speeches, etc. Articles and blogs are rarely a true representation of what actually happened.

5) For a broader picture, it's good to also research similar situations (for example, how many Republican voter registration organizers have been sentenced to prison -- good for balance and just to be fair).

6) It's also good to know definitions. For example, the difference between voter fraud and voter registration fraud is a doozy. And be sure to read all policies and actions (say for ACORN) taken within an organization to catch, prevent and report those things to the authorities.

7) It's good, when video (say of a fake pimp) is involved to see the whole video or to at least read court documents that show what REALLY happened when footage was edited. (Shirley Sherrod wasn't the first black person edited to look like she was saying something she wasn't.)

I guess that's about it. For now, anyway. See, I have spent months and years researching shit like you mentioned and I have learned that it takes more than reading comments on blogs and watching TV to understand the whole story. In fact, I have learned that anyone who thinks any of those issues can be addressed in less than 30 seconds doesn't really want to know the whole story.

Sooo.... because I think you need to learn this all on your own and I don't want to waste the time and energy I have spent learning more about these BS claims than you probably ever will, then I am not about to share with you what I have learned. You can be a responsible citizen all on your own. And until then, ask yourself this question: are YOU prepared to learn that Fox and stupid emails, that float around as if it's in an email it must be true, are wrong? Because they are. And you're going to have to face that all on your own time.