Council Winners
This week's Watcher's Council winners have been posted.
First place in the Council went to Abolish the "N" Word by ShrinkWrapped, which riffs on this site, which, if you don't follow any other links from here, might be worth a look:
To me, this is nothing about censorship (which, I suspect, is how some people will view it) and everything about the responsibilities that come with freedoms, and which only personal virtues can uphold in a non-coercive society. Just because you can say anything doesn't mean you should.
Second place was a tie betweem A Word About Courage, a D-Day meditation by Right Wing Nut House, and The Influence of Immigrants on American Political Thought by The Glittering Eye. which points out that the American political system has been shaped in part by the political sensibilities that our immigrant ancestors brought from their homelands.
Also getting votes were There Is Something About the Danes by Gates of Vienna, which looks at the Danish clergy who have stood up for their faith, and Yes, They Have Forgotten, by The Sundries Shack, an expanded meditation on this critique of the media coverage of the current war.
Outside the council the winner was Why Does the Unhinged Left So Hate Jeff Goldstein? by Ace of Spades HQ, a topic we've pondered here as well, which edged out another interesting post, Selected Quotes Do Not a Reasoned Argument Make by Villainous Company/ This began as a Fisking of sorts of a HuffPo left-side piece. And there it could have fone down the Theristes path, where any acknowledgment of the decency and humanity of your opponent is a mere sign of your own weakness. But it didn't. The original author responded and said he'd been partially misunderstood. The original poster replied civilly, and they seem to have parted, if not friends then at least not enemies.
Also getting votes were Is Europe Finally Getting It? by Israel Matzav, Some Conservatives Don't Get It... by Called As Seen, and The Goal of the Boycott: Get Rid of Israel by Augean Stables.
First place in the Council went to Abolish the "N" Word by ShrinkWrapped, which riffs on this site, which, if you don't follow any other links from here, might be worth a look:
Inspired while listening to a local radio show about the use of the N word, as well as seeing positive images during Black History month yet hearing negative lyrics in songs we experienced conflict, frustration and an overwhelming sense to "do something". We are using the billboard effect of t-shirts, the internet and the contract idea to pass on information and strengthen the commitment to this movement.
As a small group of Brooklynites who grew up during the original old school era of hip hop, we remember when rap songs never used the "N" word or profanity for that matter. We remember referring to our friends as homeboy and home girl. And we were still cool. We remember the airing of "Roots" and the sting of hearing the "N" word on national television for the first time. Now we ask ourselves what happened. What happened in our community that the "N" word is tossed around freely in everyday language? When the use of it makes you cool, down, accepted.
To me, this is nothing about censorship (which, I suspect, is how some people will view it) and everything about the responsibilities that come with freedoms, and which only personal virtues can uphold in a non-coercive society. Just because you can say anything doesn't mean you should.
Second place was a tie betweem A Word About Courage, a D-Day meditation by Right Wing Nut House, and The Influence of Immigrants on American Political Thought by The Glittering Eye. which points out that the American political system has been shaped in part by the political sensibilities that our immigrant ancestors brought from their homelands.
Also getting votes were There Is Something About the Danes by Gates of Vienna, which looks at the Danish clergy who have stood up for their faith, and Yes, They Have Forgotten, by The Sundries Shack, an expanded meditation on this critique of the media coverage of the current war.
Outside the council the winner was Why Does the Unhinged Left So Hate Jeff Goldstein? by Ace of Spades HQ, a topic we've pondered here as well, which edged out another interesting post, Selected Quotes Do Not a Reasoned Argument Make by Villainous Company/ This began as a Fisking of sorts of a HuffPo left-side piece. And there it could have fone down the Theristes path, where any acknowledgment of the decency and humanity of your opponent is a mere sign of your own weakness. But it didn't. The original author responded and said he'd been partially misunderstood. The original poster replied civilly, and they seem to have parted, if not friends then at least not enemies.
Also getting votes were Is Europe Finally Getting It? by Israel Matzav, Some Conservatives Don't Get It... by Called As Seen, and The Goal of the Boycott: Get Rid of Israel by Augean Stables.
