I knew that subject line would get your attention.
So, after listening to Gard's most recent podcast, his reference to his lefty, deconstructionist school teacher brought to mind a troubling date on Saturday, the details of which I thought some might find amusing. By way of preface, the important point is that the woman in question is a teacher of grade six. I should also mention, though, for those who don't know, Vancouver is a pretty darn lefty-statist town. It gets a bit discouraging at times. In any event, most of my dating comes through the internet these days, where I can filter -- or at least try to. So I have some stuff on my dating site profile, including a list of prefered thinkers, including Hayek, Hume, etc. So this woman writes to me saying she likes my list of thinkers. She also thinks I should include Camus, too. Now, it's been an awful long time since I read Camus, but I seem to recall The Myth of Sisyphus and The Rebel being about personal freedom. And at a time when the left was bending over backward to apologize for Stalin despite all the evidence, Camus was pretty principled. So that sounds like it could be promising. And she is a teacher, right -- maybe she actually reads.
So we go out on Saturday. Almost the first words out of her mouth is how much she's enjoyng the new Noam Chomsky book. I know Chomsky calls himself a liberatarian, but I'm going to assume the folks here are too bright to buy his fairy tale world analysis. If you've seen my comments in that other forum, you can imagine how I feel about him. So, that's not good. (And that came literally moments after we'd agreed to split a bottle of wine -- crap, can I recall that order?)
Well, I try to keep things on a light level, because, frankly, she's really beautiful. And Vietnamese. I just got back from six months in Thailand and have developed a fondness for the look. Unfortunately, though, eventually, of course, global warming comes up. Oh, my. So, before long we're tooth and nail at it. Personally, I have no argument with the fact that long term aggregrate temperature is rising. It is and should be. But I'm not convinced at all about anthroprogenesis, as they say. So, finally, after giving her my various arguments, only to have them waved-away with baseless denials, I ask her what the evidence is she supports. Now, I don't care what it is. Whatever she says, I'm sure I'll have heard it all before. And, if not, great, more to think and talk about.
She doesn't say anything. She just sits there. Increasingly embarassed. And I realize, holy crap: she doesn't actually know any evidence. I could argue her side better than she can. Here she is ferociously arguing with me on this topic and she hasn't got a bloody clue as to any evidence to support her adamently argued position. It was about his time that I did indeed feel like a slut.
We parted company soon after that. As I was walking home I was initially amused by all this, then, I remembered, Shit! She's a teacher? She has access all day to the young impressionable minds of grade six students, with no training in critical thinking and probably all with big crushes on her. I'm sure I would if I was in grade six -- even if I was girl. The damage this incredibly ignorant woman can do.
I knew that subject line would get your attention.
So, after listening to Gard's most recent podcast, his reference to his lefty, deconstructionist school teacher brought to mind a troubling date on Saturday, the details of which I thought some might find amusing. By way of preface, the important point is that the woman in question is a teacher of grade six. I should also mention, though, for those who don't know, Vancouver is a pretty darn lefty-statist town. It gets a bit discouraging at times. In any event, most of my dating comes through the internet these days, where I can filter -- or at least try to. So I have some stuff on my dating site profile, including a list of prefered thinkers, including Hayek, Hume, etc. So this woman writes to me saying she likes my list of thinkers. She also thinks I should include Camus, too. Now, it's been an awful long time since I read Camus, but I seem to recall The Myth of Sisyphus and The Rebel being about personal freedom. And at a time when the left was bending over backward to apologize for Stalin despite all the evidence, Camus was pretty principled. So that sounds like it could be promising. And she is a teacher, right -- maybe she actually reads.
So we go out on Saturday. Almost the first words out of her mouth is how much she's enjoyng the new Noam Chomsky book. I know Chomsky calls himself a liberatarian, but I'm going to assume the folks here are too bright to buy his fairy tale world analysis. If you've seen my comments in that other forum, you can imagine how I feel about him. So, that's not good. (And that came literally moments after we'd agreed to split a bottle of wine -- crap, can I recall that order?)
Well, I try to keep things on a light level, because, frankly, she's really beautiful. And Vietnamese. I just got back from six months in Thailand and have developed a fondness for the look. Unfortunately, though, eventually, of course, global warming comes up. Oh, my. So, before long we're tooth and nail at it. Personally, I have no argument with the fact that long term aggregrate temperature is rising. It is and should be. But I'm not convinced at all about anthroprogenesis, as they say. So, finally, after giving her my various arguments, only to have them waved-away with baseless denials, I ask her what the evidence is she supports. Now, I don't care what it is. Whatever she says, I'm sure I'll have heard it all before. And, if not, great, more to think and talk about.
She doesn't say anything. She just sits there. Increasingly embarassed. And I realize, holy crap: she doesn't actually know any evidence. I could argue her side better than she can. Here she is ferociously arguing with me on this topic and she hasn't got a bloody clue as to any evidence to support her adamently argued position. It was about his time that I did indeed feel like a slut.
We parted company soon after that. As I was walking home I was initially amused by all this, then, I remembered, Shit! She's a teacher? She has access all day to the young impressionable minds of grade six students, with no training in critical thinking and probably all with big crushes on her. I'm sure I would if I was in grade six -- even if I was girl. The damage this incredibly ignorant woman can do.
It left me a little thoughtful and sad.
Copernicus