If ignorance is not an excuse, then ... ?

Submitted by Fred (United States), Jun 28, 2008 at 05:33

> Submitted by DrRJP (United States), Jun 25, 2008 at 13:21

> While Obama did not say, in verbatim, "I will stand with the Muslims if the winds of change get ugly,"
> he did say the following:

> "I will stand with them [Muslims] should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

Well golly Wilbur, I wasn't the one that said he said it verbatim. You were:

>Submitted by DrRJP (United States), Jun 13, 2008 at 18:25

>If you have not read Obama's books, "The Audacity of Hope," and "Dreams of my Father," then I
>strongly suggest that you do. Then, you and I could talk about what Obama, himself, has said.

>For example, Obama said, "I will stand with the Muslims if the winds of change get ugly."

That is what you said he said. I quoted you "verbatim". Then I expressed my doubts. You obligingly confirmed that I was indeed correct, and that you did indeed misquote him.

But, thankfully, you corrected it above. Here it is again:

> he did say the following:

> "I will stand with them [Muslims] should the political winds shift in an ugly direction.

But, really? Why did he put that in brackets? Lemme check. Now, assuming that this time you are quoting it correctly (not that your previous attempts should give me any reason to), you quote, within the full context:

"... I will stand with them should the political winds shift in an ugly direction."

Well, gee whiz kiddo. Those two sentences are different. But, of course, "them" needs a reference, so you needed to put in the 'them" that he had used previously in the context, hunh!

Without quoting the whole thing here again, and assuming again that this time you quoted the contextual "verbatim" verbatim, and not with the previous See-Dick-Run exegesis you provided for we, the unwashed, I see that nowhere does he use the word Muslim. Oh, don't go all Gomer Pyle on me with the rant that all Arabs, and not to forget, the Pakistanis are Muslim. A lot are, some aren't, life is more complex than a trailer park. And, I don't want to go too far afield with this, but you then bemoan the fact that he didn't mention African Americans.

Well, even before them he should have included Persians and even Uighurs. Long before them. There was a theme to what he was talking about. I must either assume you don't know it, or don't care to, either way, it serves no purpose to belabor it here.

The important point, the fundamental truth that we are seeking here, and have now found, is simple.

You lied.

You said: 'For example, Obama said, "I will stand with the Muslims if the winds of change get ugly."'

He didn't, and your reply showed that you knew he didn't. Fixing up the quote for we 'poor school boys' doesn't cut it. It ain't being helpful, it's lying. It is dishonest. As one stalwart intellectual once put it, "It's disassembling"(1).

If you had written: 'For example, Obama said, "I will stand with them [Arabs,Pakistanis] if the winds of change get ugly"', it would have been a step in the right direction. Still wrong, but at least I might have given you effort for trying.

But, if you wrote: For example, Obama said, "I will stand with them [Arab Americans and Pakistani Americans] if the winds of change get ugly."'

Now you would be in the world of honesty and correctness. Sadly, correctly quoted it doesn't say what you wanted it to say. Sucks, don't it.

But, you do notice the difference? Not too subtle, was it? Here, let me highlight the important word:

But, if you wrote: For example, Obama said, "I will stand with them [Arab Americans and Pakistani Americans] if the winds of change get ugly."'

I will make no assumptions about you. I could, but I won't. ... and no amount of further dissembling on your part will sugarcoat it.

You see, it's not the opinion that I have a problem with. You don't like the guy, fine. You want to tell folks your opinions fine. But where you delve into the world of facts, and you deliberately obfuscate them (that means "to lie"), you make everything else you say, to me at least, have no value, since I think that people who will tell one lie will likely tell another. I think maybe Ben Franklin said that. ;^)

(1) anybody who corrects my spelling here is not paying attention.

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