Comments on: Have you no shame?

By: Barbara

Barbara — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:29:52 +0000

fyi – but if the children in your classrooms are using the same computer, Firefox has an extension where you can block certain areas of websites you go to frequently. Adblock Plus Element Hider will allow you to hide/remove areas of text. I do this to remove the “Gmail” header from printed email and it works wonderfully.

I suspect you can use this to delete comments.

There are other such browser extensions that will hide comments on youtube, etc.

By: alicemercer

alicemercer — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 01:16:14 +0000

Thank you for your thoughts.

By: Cary

Cary — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:09:09 +0000

It isn’t really a false equivalency. I was comparing your statements about the commenters, not Mr. Jarvis and I was comparing what you were saying about them now, not what you felt at 13. You are no longer powerless and you do not know the life situation of the people who are leaving comments on the Sacramento Bee’s website. I don’t think any of us should see ourselves better than anyone else, so in the full scheme of things, my beliefs are closer to yours than to the nativists and other prejudicial people. But my point was that you are making assumptions and presuppositions about the anonymous posters and that is not wholly unlike what they are doing to the immigrants themselves. You are free to disagree with me. I find that most people (myself included) don’t like to be challenged. But before pushing my comments aside because you didn’t like the thesis, please make sure you read and understand what I said.

By: alicemercer

alicemercer — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:45:04 +0000

That is a false equivalency. I don’t have to know the commenter to know an adult resident of one of our areas more affluent areas has more power that a sixth grader from a refugee family. Even if they both lived in the same neighborhood, a child has less power than an adult. I appreciate you trying to be “fair” but it becomes an excuse for bullying, especially in the case of the racists comments which have clearly been made. I would not say all people who have an issue with immigration, or illegal immigrants are in this bunch even though they make me mad and I disagree with them. Also, people who make ignorant statements and hand pick their facts when given sympathy can imply a license for demagoguery.

By: Cary

Cary — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 11:26:32 +0000

Very well said, and I agree with your sentiments. The interesting paradox of an article like this, however, is that you are having to make presuppositions and assumptions about the commenters and their lives in order to draw the conclusions you draw as well. Small people are generally less well educated (though not always) and are more likely to have less “power” and therefore feel threatened by other groups (please note I’m speaking about the followers, not the leaders – there are always leaders who feed off of the powerless and fan the flames of their fears for personal gain). That doesn’t excuse their smallness or make it any less disheartening, but it does make it dicey to have a debate about topics like this. We can’t simply paint them with a broad brush or we end up doing exactly the same thing you accused them of doing with their comments (even though you weren’t being mean, racist, nativist, etc.). But it could be argued that you are being classist. Anytime we look “down” at someone and their actions we lose any “high” ground we might have.

So the bigger question for me is, how do we have this debate and bring these things in the open without being just as “bigoted” as the bigots?

Just a thought.

By: Donelle

Donelle — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:56:42 +0000

Just read this blogpost. The picture is perfect! Very well articulated, my friend! “See” you tomorrow night! Hoping I won’t forget.

By: mrlane

mrlane — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 05:21:01 +0000

Beautifully said…

By: Hadass

Hadass — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:42:18 +0000

You go, girl! Alice, you totally rock. Great post!