First things first: Thanks for your generous tips.
Second things next: Thanks to Lefty Mama for the inspiration to write my next diary. The following started as a response to her comment on my previous diary, and turned into a rant that I had to refine.
bounce with me
Lefty Mama, being controlled by fear and not being able to know that you're being controlled is a big problem for humans (IMHO).
I think it is about how well you really know yourself, or to simplify, are you still living in high school? Getting to know oneself is something that I might give my opinion on later, but lets get back on topic.
Your (Lefty Mama) comment has more to it than looking into unexamined fear.
I am more interested in how to talk to people who are bigots, but would shoot me if I called them out on it. Your points about tip toeing and beating around the bush are what I have been trying to do as of late, but I'm failing at it and that's why I've turned for help here.
Getting them to spring the trap with their own words is for sure one of the best ways to open someone's mind, however it is a lot harder in practice than it may seem.
My main tactic has been to frame any political/societal issue in an elite vs the regular guy frame. Rich ruling the poor, etc etc etc. This has been about the only angle I can get response from. And for good reason too! Personally, I think the economics of American society (and modern global society to some extent) are totally messed up.
We have reached a point where even the most hardboiled wingnuts will agree that the rich fucks out there are oppressing everyone below them on the money (read: food) chain. One of the first things that a child learns these days is the value of money and power. Money gets you what you want.
Whatever you want, money can get it for you.
That's the ruling mentality (or conventional wisdom.) However that statement is false, and the MasterCard marketing people are correct. Some things are priceless, like peace. But healthcare for all is not priceless. When you look at a variety of things you can see that the more money is put in, the more you are likely to get out of it: More money into R&D correllates to more and/or better stuff. More money into marketing correllates to more sales, or at least higher brand visibility (this is similar to the billboard campaign discussed yesterday).
I'm out of gas.
Comment away, if you will.