Comments for Just who the hell are we?

Comment on By-election junky Davis refuses to acknowledge victory in Haltemprice and Howden by Michael Tim

Michael Tim — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:48:14 +0000

I love your site!

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Comment on On the Uses and Abuses of George W. Bush by christianliberal

christianliberal — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:11:11 +0000

Many Americans want to apologize for the tragedy of the Bush years.

As we approach the termination of the worst U.S. presidency in our history, we, the common people of this once great nation, apologize for the crimes the Bush administration has perpetrated on the world. We ask for your forgiveness, as we step towards the brink of electing a true patriot who holds dear the ideals that America once stood for. With Barack Obama as our new leader, we once again have hope for regaining the role of America as the beacon of justice in a peace-hungry world.

We apologize for invading other countries.
We apologize for our role in global warming.
We apologize for advocating torture and preemptive war.
We apologize for abandoning the Geneva Conventions.
We apologize for spying on people.
We apologize for economic coercion.
We apologize for alienating our fellow citizens of the world.

We sincerely hope that the new president will usher in an era of peace and understanding.
Thank you for your patience over the past 8 years, and God bless you.

Comment on An honest appeal for an intelligent discussion of immigration – Part 1 of 3 by Exoronna

Exoronna — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:59:26 +0000

Thanks !

Comment on About Me by adammcnestrie

adammcnestrie — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 20:48:48 +0000

Tom, thanks for your comment. I can’t help you on the citation front really. It’s not the way I fly anymore: I’m done with academia and have settled happily into a dilettante style. In a lecture I heard this year I heard that Nietzsche’s published work included just three footnotes; I hope to avoid publishing even that many.

Comment on An honest appeal for an intelligent discussion of immigration – Part 1 of 3 by adammcnestrie

adammcnestrie — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:24:48 +0000

I’m not sure that I have the answer to your points. My argument on re-immigration would be that UK citizens acquired a right to live in the country which couldn’t be taken away from them even if they left the country.

The second point about ’similarity’ is the more interesting one and far harder to answer. One has to ask then about the standard for measuring the similar and the dissimilar and one has to pay attention to dividers that have nothing to do with ethnic origin like class, religion and behaviour. If I were to answer the point from the perspective of someone who wants to restrict immigration – I am ambivalent as will become clear in the second and third parts – then I would argue that one can’t always have a rational, theoretically perfect policy. Maybe one would want some sort of cultural similarity and maybe that would theoretically involve kicking some people who are here already out, but there are too many obstacles to doing that. The obstacles to restricting immigration in the future are fewer and more easily surmountable.

Read the next two posts, though. I don’t want people to think that I am necessarily advocating the conservative position, but it is the one that the debate has stigmatised and squeezed out.

Comment on An honest appeal for an intelligent discussion of immigration – Part 1 of 3 by adammcnestrie

adammcnestrie — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:19:56 +0000

Ray, I understand your anger at the Conservatives. Really, I do. But I think that between the period 1997-2005 there was a widespread aversion to the Conservative Party that wasn’t based upon what they were advocating and who they were, but on a sort of distorted popular memory of what went before. That’s what explains that strange polling I refer to and it’s why the Conservatives have had to adopt a strategy of decontamination. It is the collective response that has been irrational; lots of individuals will rationally dislike the conservatives.

Comment on An honest appeal for an intelligent discussion of immigration – Part 1 of 3 by Simon Cardnell

Simon Cardnell — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:43:11 +0000

Interesting – but I think harsh on the liberal argument. I would say that those that advocate a restricted immigration system, can be meaningfully called xenophobic or even in some cases racist (not just terms to cull debate)- how many would accept the restriction of those British nationals who have emigrated but are wishing to re-enter the UK? If the ‘island is full’ this is the postion they would surely have to take.

…as for ‘it can just as easily be about unsuitability: we are not suited to them, they are not suited to us’ – from this position wouldn’t it follow that those currently living in the Uk who are ‘too different’ from us (who are the ‘us’ anyway?) should be removed as they are ‘just’ unsuitable to live in this country.

Liberal self-criticism is good, but shouldn’t be taken too far.

Comment on An honest appeal for an intelligent discussion of immigration – Part 1 of 3 by Ray Daniels

Ray Daniels — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:23:39 +0000

“…public’s visceral dislike of the Tory party – a dislike so irrational…”

There you go again Adam with this wrong sort of electorate stuff. What’s irrational about disliking a party you feel lied to you and betrayed you? Why shouldn’t somebody who thinks they suffered under the Tories dislike them for it?

What’s wrong with a neutral “profound”?

Comment on About Me by Thomas Aikenhead

Thomas Aikenhead — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:27:43 +0000

Some most interesting posts!
Would it be possible for you to support some of your comments and observations with some sources/citations/references?

Tom

Comment on How about Ken Livingstone for Glasgow East? by adammcnestrie

adammcnestrie — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:34:54 +0000

Thank you Fugitive Ink. Much obliged.