tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post1857824015393411666..comments2024-03-25T20:06:39.794-05:00Comments on Grits for Breakfast: Fringe Criticisms of Snitching Tread Dangerous GroundGritsforbreakfasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-62866859470261767822008-01-12T13:47:00.000-06:002008-01-12T13:47:00.000-06:00"Overton's window is nothing but a self justificat..."Overton's window is nothing but a self justification for demagogues and losers."<BR/><BR/>How do you really feel about it, Scott?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-35011976460551833632008-01-12T07:42:00.000-06:002008-01-12T07:42:00.000-06:00"well meaning people have been trying to frame the..."well meaning people have been trying to frame the conversation about this in reasonable terms for years"<BR/><BR/>I don't actually think that's true. This didn't really become a big public issue in America until the "stop snitching" movement arose and the recent bout of wrongful convictions showed how commonly problematic snitching can be.<BR/><BR/>I also don't know that Al Sharpton is particularly "effective." At what? Bringing attention to oneself changes little, in my experience.<BR/><BR/>Finally, I do consider this the flipside of John Podhoretz, which is precisely why I find the approach wrong, even abhorrent, and certainly irresponsible. Overton's window is nothing but a self justification for demagogues and losers. I realize some people think that's a legitimate way to go, but as the Beatles sang, "you can count me out."Gritsforbreakfasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10152152869466958902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8597101.post-36105769140819015832008-01-11T21:41:00.000-06:002008-01-11T21:41:00.000-06:00I'm not sure I agree. Yes, some of the messages in...I'm not sure I agree. Yes, some of the messages in that video are irresponsible, and yes, the title of the conference is deliberately provocative.<BR/><BR/>That said, well meaning people have been trying to frame the conversation about this in reasonable terms for years, and where has that gone?<BR/><BR/>That's not to say that deliberate hyperbole to get attention is the best approach. But at the very least, if they get some attention, even if negative, it might at least draw people to think about the issues. This is similar to, for instance, Al Sharpton - however much I dislike him and consider a lot of what he's done to be self-interested, he has brought attention to civil rights issues closer to mainstream attention; often in a confrontational manner, frequently simply wrong, but effective.<BR/><BR/>Consider this the flipside of the JPods of the world - making absurd claims about the immediate need to bomb Iran to give cover for "reasonable" neocons. I don't like the tactic from either side, but Overton's Window is real, and it works.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com