Science Of Small Talk

The science of social behavior, one interaction at a time

by Sam Sommers

In Search of the "Real America"

By Sam Sommers on October 21, 2008 in Science Of Small Talk

USA Flag I'm not much of a seafood connoisseur. Accordingly, dining companions often offer suggestions for fish that they're sure I'll like: for example, I'm often told that fresh fish doesn't taste fishy. Words can be funny that way. And I've been pondering the non-fishiness of fish this past week as we hit the homestretch in the presidential election. Specifically, I've been thinking about how just as some fish apparently doesn't taste like fish, some Americans apparently aren't really American... Read More

gross eating fish

Submitted by mmcanelly on October 22, 2008 - 5:48am.

gross eating fish

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over analysis

Submitted by get real on October 22, 2008 - 6:23am.

You're reading too much into the comments. Of course your liberal views taint your objectivity.

Can you please comment on Congressman John Murtha's (D) statement that western Pennsylvania (his own district!) is a "racist area"?

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hes just stating the facts.

Submitted by Anonymous on October 22, 2008 - 7:15am.

hes just stating the facts. dont get upset because hes being honest. repooplicans like to play on the whole patriotic thing and bash obama. if he were white this wouldnt be happening, and the republicans would probably be even more behind than they are now. maybe mccain and palin should stop talking about obama so much and start talking about real issues. oh not just mccain and palin but now their republican friends too. what a hateful, angry party.

while we're at it, someone should tell palin what a vp's job is because she still doesnt get it. what a great example for all women out there!!!

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get real

Submitted by Anonymous on October 22, 2008 - 11:16am.

and if he was white, Colin Powell wouldn't have endorsed him! What do you say about that?

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i say colin powell

Submitted by Anonymous on October 23, 2008 - 9:26am.

i say colin powell recognizes his party sucks so he went with obama. he endorsed bush in 2000 and 2004. so what do you say about that?

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seriously?

Submitted by an interested observer on October 22, 2008 - 8:54am.

I've noticed that people that claim to be "objective" usually are just trying to justify their own opinion.

Selective choosing facts to support an opinion doesn't make a point of view "objective". Those who gather the "facts" have an agenda, those who "analyze" the facts have an agenda, and those report the analysis have an agenda. When information has been screened through three agendas, it makes the debate about "objectivity" somewhat trivial.

Accusing people of being too liberal or too conservative merely illustrates one's own bias, and represents a personal attack in lieu of a valid argument, which is a fallacy of the very logic of which you would seem to be a proponent.

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"real" Americans, "real" people, "real" men

Submitted by Jay Dixit on October 22, 2008 - 9:44am.

The late great Douglas Adams effectively skewered that linguistic absurdity in his brilliant book, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy:

"In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri."

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Another racial guilt trip

Submitted by Nick Foster on February 11, 2009 - 8:10am.

This is just another far fetched stretch to play the race card. If they try hard enough, Democrats can boil anything down to republicans being racist. I have black friends and harbor no racist feelings toward them. When I think of Obama being anti-american I think not of his skin color, but of the fact the he refuses to wear his flag pin, or cover his heart during the national anthem. Now, those are two very cliche examples, but you get my point. His anti-american reputation comes from his attitude towards his own country, not his skin color. If he were white, it would be no different (in this case anyway).

"Real Americans" are people who love their country and support it at all times, even if they don't agree with the government currently running it. If you can't see, or live, the distinction between those two things, you are not a real american. It has absolutely nothing to do with race, find another way to guilt trip Republicans, this is getting old.

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re:

Submitted by Sam Sommers on February 11, 2009 - 8:19am.

Come on, Nick, you can do better than that, no? Give us some evidence other than Fox News talking points about lapel pins and the pledge of allegiance. You write, "'Real Americans' are people who love their country and support it at all times, even if they don't agree with the government currently running it." What's the evidence you're citing to suggest that this description doesn't apply to our new President? I believe you that you don't think of Obama's skin color in labeling him anti-American. Of course, the data described in my post suggests that this doesn't have to be a conscious process. But even if I take you at your word when you say that, all your post does is reveal that you'll jump to label any non-Republican as not a real American, so isn't that a bias even if it isn't racial? I hate to break it to you, but yours is the partisan post, not mine. In the first paragraph after the bullet points, I was careful to point out that Democrats likely think the same way about Republicans...