Reply #71: Self-styled elites have long called their critics "the unwashed". [View All]

[bigmonkey]

This has a long pedigree. At some points in history it was accurate, because the circumstances of the critics were much closer to manual labor than those of the elites. They had limited facilities for cleanliness, because of their poverty. For me, whenever I see anyone invoke this "get a bath" stuff, I see nothing but propaganda drawing a veil between the speaker and the critics of the system. I'm old enough to remember the hippies, and that way of talking was always a substitute for grappling with the issues, never useful or accurate except as a distraction for the right wing.

Nature is unruly, democracy is not streamlined. Does tidiness really trump the health of the environment and human rights? I think that view only works for the wealthy, who feel well-represented nowadays in the U.S. This focus seems to me to be just the latest attempt by right-wing folks to shunt the discussion to a yes-or-no on a triviality associated with the main issues. Because, of course, you don't have to respect the rights of the "icky". It's an example of dehumanization - they aren't people, they're "dirty hippies".