Politcs of the playground
Oct. 4th, 2006 05:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kitanziBecause this so perfectly fits what politics feel like to me these days:
" A child can win any argument with other children with just two words. It’s such a powerful debate strategy that even tiny younglings pull back instinctively from using it, since they know that it will destroy their opponents so thoroughly that it’s hardly worth fighting any more.
Witness the power in action:
“I went to see an R-rated movie the other night.”
“Nuh uh!”
The brilliance of the “Nuh uh” approach is that it immediately strips all facts from the equation. The “Nuh uh” does not attempt to dismiss the issues one by one – no, the “Nuh uh” is a global strike that calls the speaker a liar and calls everything he says into question.
The details are irrelevant. There’s nothing to debate, because the speaker hasn’t actually told you why you’re wrong. You just are.
There are only two ways of countering the “Nuh uh,” and neither usually works:
* The emphatic “Yuh huh!” Sometimes this works, but it depends entirely on your status in the community (are you someone who has something to be gained by lying?) and how complicated an issue it is (can you be believed?).
* A detailing of the facts (“No! Dude! Ask my mom, if you want!”), which only works if you have slam-dunk physical evidence right at hand. Otherwise, listing the reasons why you’re not a liar makes you sound defensive and whiny.
The brilliance of the Bush administration, of course, is that they have fully harnessed the power of the “Nuh uh.” "
And it gets better.
http://theferrett.livejournal.com/804454.html?nc=66
" A child can win any argument with other children with just two words. It’s such a powerful debate strategy that even tiny younglings pull back instinctively from using it, since they know that it will destroy their opponents so thoroughly that it’s hardly worth fighting any more.
Witness the power in action:
“I went to see an R-rated movie the other night.”
“Nuh uh!”
The brilliance of the “Nuh uh” approach is that it immediately strips all facts from the equation. The “Nuh uh” does not attempt to dismiss the issues one by one – no, the “Nuh uh” is a global strike that calls the speaker a liar and calls everything he says into question.
The details are irrelevant. There’s nothing to debate, because the speaker hasn’t actually told you why you’re wrong. You just are.
There are only two ways of countering the “Nuh uh,” and neither usually works:
* The emphatic “Yuh huh!” Sometimes this works, but it depends entirely on your status in the community (are you someone who has something to be gained by lying?) and how complicated an issue it is (can you be believed?).
* A detailing of the facts (“No! Dude! Ask my mom, if you want!”), which only works if you have slam-dunk physical evidence right at hand. Otherwise, listing the reasons why you’re not a liar makes you sound defensive and whiny.
The brilliance of the Bush administration, of course, is that they have fully harnessed the power of the “Nuh uh.” "
And it gets better.
http://theferrett.livejournal.com/804454.html?nc=66
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-10-04 10:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-05 01:09 am (UTC)I worship you!
I worship The Ferrett!
I can SO picture GW saying that!
At least now when things feel bleak I can picture him saying "Nuh - uh!"
Yay!