Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
Employ shaming and fear to shut down debate and narrow the range of discussion. Or have you missed the weekly apologies in the media by some public figure or other for making comments that were denounced as bigoted? You don't think the fear of media outrage has chilled public dialog on a whole range of issues?
What do you think the range of debate on native issues are for a public figure in Canada today? Do you think that narrow range of acceptable discussion helps or hinders progress of native issues? That's exactly where liberalism and leftism part ways. Liberalism values the widest scope of debate, with the largest number of options and arguments and most wide-ranging and rigorous discussion. The shibboleths and taboos of the left choke off that debate. We live in a society today where accusations of bigotry are the new scarlet letter.
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If someone's argument appears unsupported by statistics or appears to make illogical inferences, I don't have a problem with asking whether or not that argument is based on stereotypes or the the attribution of arbitrary characteristics to groups of people. People shouldn't be afraid of being accused of bigotry. There is a clear defence to such an accusation: showing the rational and evidence-based support for your position. If you can't do that, perhaps it's time for some quiet introspection and reconsideration of your views.