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Barbara Bush: Social Darwinist?

Batman Jr.

Graduate Poster
Batman Jr.
Joined
Apr 30, 2004
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Barbara Bush sees sunny side

Haughty, apathetic remarks hinting at economic prejudice are not without precedent in the former First Lady's history. This reminds me of her famous "beautiful mind" statement criticizing the media for speculating about American casualties in the months before the second Iraq war. Snopes interprets the "body bags" remark as being less acerbic than it appears quoted out of its original context, but after this more recent comment, it makes me feel that there exists the distinct possibility that the older one is as malicious as it sounds.
 
Re: the first link. No, that doesn't seem to be social darwinism.

Re: the second. I'll certainly never vote for her for anything.
 
I don't read papers that require registration so I can't address the first. As to the second, I don't see anything to suggest that it was malevolent. I think her point is that there are bad things in the world that she doesn't have a lot of control over and she chooses not to fill her head with such negative images. I can certainly see how it is Pollyannaish and even see how it can be taken to be insensitive especially with the "beautiful mind" quip but that seems to be more a lack of tact in this area. I don't see much there beyond that. Is there something that I am missing?
 
Re: Re: Barbara Bush: Social Darwinist?

Ladewig said:
Your link requires registration. May we have a small taste of the article?
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"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas," Mrs. Bush said in an interview on Monday with the American Public Media radio program "Marketplace." "Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality.

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway," she said, "so this is working very well for them."
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http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0906katrina-barbara06-ON.html

crooksandliars.com Barbara Bush-Audio
 
RandFan said:
I don't read papers that require registration so I can't address the first. As to the second, I don't see anything to suggest that it was malevolent. I think her point is that there are bad things in the world that she doesn't have a lot of control over and she chooses not to fill her head with such negative images. I can certainly see how it is Pollyannaish and even see how it can be taken to be insensitive especially with the "beautiful mind" quip but that seems to be more a lack of tact in this area. I don't see much there beyond that. Is there something that I am missing?
Click to expand...
Sorry about the registration; I looked at the article on that first "free view" that they give you before they force you to register and so I didn't even realize it was going to ask you to sign up. Thanks for the other links, Claimee.

I couldn't tell you if it was just a general lack of tact—it seems W inherited something of the sort from someplace—but I get suspicious when I hear a few these "untactful" statements that can be construed as having similar themes.
 
Batman Jr. said:
Sorry about the registration; I looked at the article on that first "free view" that they give you before they force you to register and so I didn't even realize it was going to ask you to sign up. Thanks for the other links, Claimee.

I couldn't tell you if it was just a general lack of tact—it seems W inherited something of the sort from someplace—but I get suspicious when I hear a few these "untactful" statements that can be construed as having similar themes.
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Understood. She sounds like Polyana to me. Did you ever see the movie or are you familiar with the term?
 
She's bucking for the Marie Antoinette Humanitarian Award.
 
There was nothing derogatory meant by her comments. But intent, when picking on conservatives, never seems to stop liberals.

Considering the dopey things I'm seeming some of the liberals say on TV, you would be better served to look in your own backyard.
 
a_unique_person said:
Australian tourists who tried to walk out of the hellhole at the convention centre were turned back by cops firing over the heads from the next county. I think the message was pretty clear.
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Do you have a link? This is all I could come up with:
Louisiana state police chief Henry Whitehorn said many New Orleans police officers had turned in their badges. "They indicated that they had lost everything and didn't feel that it was worth them going back to take fire from looters and losing their lives."

Canadian tourist Larry Mitzel summed up the feelings of visitors, among them 50 Australians, when he said: "I'm not sure I'm going to get out of here alive. I'm scared of riots. I'm scared of the locals. We might get caught in the crossfire."

Police escorted a group of white tourists, including Australian Anthony Hopes, 30, away from the Superdome after they were subjected to race threats. The tourists are now under armed guard in the foyer of the Hilton hotel.
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http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/wireless/story/0,8262,1-16475272,00.html
 
New Ager said:
There was nothing derogatory meant by her comments.
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If one looks at former govenor Evan Mecham in 1987(?), one can easily see that he did not have any derogatory intention at all when, while defending a book that used the word "pickaninnies," he said that blacks use the term affectionately to describe their children. My point is that lack of deregotory intention can be irrelevant when considering an insensitive, inappropriate, or stupid comment.



New Ager said:
But intent, when picking on conservatives, never seems to stop liberals.
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Does intent, when picking on liberals, ever stop conservatives? When Ted Kennedy mistakenly referred to Barack Obama as Osama, did conservative commentor Rush Limbaugh say, "well, it was a slip of the tongue - obviously Senator Kennedy did not mean to use the name of the most wanted man in America when referring to his colleague so after looking at the intent, I think we should just ignore the whole thing?


New Ager said:
Considering the dopey things I'm seeming some of the liberals say on TV, you would be better served to look in your own backyard.
Click to expand...

Can't we look at both backyards? Don't both sides say stupid things and don't both sides have both the right and the responsibility (to the voters) to point out the stupid things the other side says?
 
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