The Matt Damon Political Bigotry Thread

[Brian]

A certain popular thread elsewhere has recently been sidetracked by a little conversation which deserves a thread of its own.

The posts so far...

As much as I despise Matt Damon's self-righteous political bigotry,...

Bigotry?  Really?  I guess the conservative persecution complex should no longer amaze me, but it still does.

?

To put it another way, David, you're assertion that Matt Damon is a bigot is bollocks.

False.  He made it quite clear two years ago in an interview on CBS TV.  See for yourself: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4435771n

I really didn't see anything bigoted going on there, but maybe I'm blinded by agreeing with nearly every word. Probably material for another thread...

Not unlikely.  People are often thus blinded.

In this case Damon's bigotry is glaring.  He says at the outset that he knows nothing about Palin (although he obviously knows a little, most notably that she had just been named for the VP slot on the GOP ticket).  Yet his admitted ignorance scarcely impedes him from forming and expressing strong opinions clearly based on nothing but his prejudices against small town mayors, Republicans, and women who don't know their place as he sees it.  Furthermore, in claiming that "8 weeks from now" he will know nothing more about her, he asserts that his ignorance is willful, for given the opportunity to inform himself he chooses not to but prefers to retain his existing prejudice and ignorance.   

[Philoctetes]

This definitely needed its own topic.

[Brian]

This definitely needed its own topic.

Don't ask me to rescue the Book Reedin Thred from its current religious debate oblivion, though...

[MN Dave]

Don't ask me to rescue the Book Reedin Thred from its current religious debate oblivion, though...

There needs to be a thread tacked to the top of the board: "Fightin' 'Bout Religion!"

[Philoctetes]

Don't ask me to rescue the Book Reedin Thred from its current religious debate oblivion, though...

In regards to the 'bigotry' accusation though, it's easy to quote mine.

[MN Dave]

Matt Damon should have said he doesnt want an idiot running the country. Y'know, like George W.

[Brian]

In this case Damon's bigotry is glaring.  He says at the outset that he knows nothing about Palin (although he obviously knows a little, most notably that she had just been named for the VP slot on the GOP ticket).

Charge: Matt Damon admits ignorance about Sarah Palin.
Defense: That was his point. When the interview was aired (10 September; not sure when it was taped), Sarah Palin had been announced the VP candidate 12 days prior. Those 12 days had seen her catapult to national fame from literally nothing: the only reason I had heard of her before was that, in February, a savvy Politico commenter had mentioned her as a VP possibility (another had said "Won't she still be pregnant?"). She had been "talent-scouted" by Bill Kristol and other conservatives and her name had been pitched to John McCain only four days he announced the choice. The following days saw the media scramble to learn more about her.

The notorious Katie Couric interview happened on 25 September. Palin said that she had foreign policy credentials because you can see Russia from Alaska on 11 September, the date of her first major media interview. (Oddly enough, she was right, though that didn't stop the first SNL/Tina Fey skit from airing on the 13th.)

It would have been natural, then, for Matt Damon to know little about her. She had only just been introduced to the public and we didn't yet know about her foreign-policy cluelessness, ignorance of current events, shopping sprees with party money, witch-doctor pastor, or (m)any of the other accusations, true and false, which would arise in coming months.
Verdict: Ignorance, guilty; willful ignorance, Not guilty

Furthermore, in claiming that "8 weeks from now" he will know nothing more about her, he asserts that his ignorance is willful, for given the opportunity to inform himself he chooses not to but prefers to retain his existing prejudice and ignorance.

Charge: Matt Damon will avoid informing himself about Sarah Palin.
Defense: This one is a matter of interpretation. But I think a simpler interpretation is, he thinks that Palin's handlers, the media, the party, and/or Palin's self-presentation as a "hockey mom" will prevent people from knowing what they need to know about her before voting on her. Clearly, he was wrong; I now know far more about Sarah Palin, and her family, than I would ever want to. But when Damon said this, - it could go either way. In my opinion, when he says, "In 8 weeks I won't know anything about her," what he means is, "In 8 weeks she won't have been in the spotlight long enough to demonstrate presidential qualifications," or "In 8 weeks she'll still be a mystery surprise candidate." Worth remembering: on 10 September, Palin had gone 12 days without significant media interview time anywhere about her vice presidency run. Maybe he thought the secrecy would continue, as indeed, after the Couric disaster, it temporarily did.
Verdict: Wrong, but not necessarily out of bigotry

Yet his admitted ignorance scarcely impedes him from forming and expressing strong opinions clearly based on nothing but his prejudices against small town mayors, Republicans, and women who don't know their place as he sees it.

Charge: Matt Damon is prejudiced against (a) small town mayors, (b) Republicans, and (c) assertive women.
Defense: With regard to (a) it is clear that his "prejudice" against small town mayors is that they are not fit to jump from "mayor of a very small, a really small town" to the Vice Presidency. I fail to see how this is prejudice at all; sure, as an open-minded person, I can leave open the possibility that small-town mayors could make great presidents (an actor did!), but it is fairly unlikely that they'd make the jump directly. In fact, only two presidents have been small-town mayors, Andrew Johnson and Calvin Coolidge, and they each had at least a decade of experience after their mayorships. In any case, neither was a very good president. (The only other mayor-President was Grover Cleveland of Buffalo, NY.)

I'm not sure if you consider Damon's jibe "the pick was made for political purposes" to be (c), but there is really no explicit mention of women, or the role of women. The "hockey mom in a Disney movie" bit is not a prejudicial caricature but a quote/extrapolation from Palin's own claim to be an everyday, everywoman "hockey mom" in her debut speech on 4 September. (A speech which I watched with only slight misgivings, by the way. Times change!)

There is really no mention of (b) Republicans in particular. Quite possibly, you are referring to Damon's claim that "young-earth creationists" are unfit for the presidency. Damon was prescient, in that a week later the LA Times published an article claiming (via hearsay and interviews with Palin's neighbors) that she thought dinosaurs and people existed at the same time. I don't think someone with such bad ideas about modern knowledge should be the most powerful person in the world, but that's at least matter for debate. The accusation that she wanted to ban books, also somewhat hearsay, had been reported by the time Damon spoke.

Verdict:
(a) Prejudice against small-town mayors: Not guilty
(b) Prejudice against Republicans: Possible, but not evident in this clip
(c) Prejudice against assertive women: Not guilty
(d) Prejudice against 72-year-old men who might die soon: Didn't think of that one, didja?

[Philoctetes]

Matt Damon should have said he doesnt want an idiot running the country. Y'know, like George W.

Why anyone would pay an actor any mind in regards to politics in the first place, is beyond me? Although, I suppose it is better than listening to your church but only slightly.

[Philoctetes]

Brian, do you really have nothing beter to do?

[MN Dave]

Why anyone would pay an actor any mind in regards to politics in the first place, is beyond me? Although, I suppose it is better than listening to your church but only slightly.

Right. Ask him about acting instead.

[Brian]

Why anyone would pay an actor any mind in regards to politics in the first place, is beyond me? Although, I suppose it is better than listening to your church but only slightly.

Nyah nyah




P.S. Yes, I did write that 'cuz I felt like it. I was baking/eating dinner, and it seemed slightly more stimulating than watching TV. Now, however, I'm going to go do some work.

[Philoctetes]

Right. Ask him about acting instead.

I do enjoy his interviews in regards to films. He's very personable, and seemingly honest. I find those a pleasure to listen to, and he does give decent insights into the processes.

[DavidRoss]

I do enjoy his interviews in regards to films. He's very personable, and seemingly honest. I find those a pleasure to listen to, and he does give decent insights into the processes.

And he seems like a nice fellow, too.

Brian, you left this section out:

I'll go into the movie with an open mind....

And this is the opposite of bigotry.  You even recognize that your perceptions may be colored by pre-existing beliefs about the film, but determine to keep your mind open and to withhold judgment until you've investigated it for yourself.

Finally, if we're going to discuss bigotry, it might help if we all knew what it is.  Wikipedia's definition agrees with my understanding of the term: "A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance and animosity toward those of differing beliefs." 

Damon's interview speaks for itself. 

[Philoctetes]

Damon's interview speaks for itself.

Only if that was the only thing he said.

[DavidRoss]

'Tis a pity that even basic critical thinking is in such short supply.

[Brian]

Brian, you left this section out: And this is the opposite of bigotry.  You even recognize that your perceptions may be colored by pre-existing beliefs about the film, but determine to keep your mind open and to withhold judgment until you've investigated it for yourself.

Finally, if we're going to discuss bigotry, it might help if we all knew what it is.  Wikipedia's definition agrees with my understanding of the term: "A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance and animosity toward those of differing beliefs." 

Given that Damon's clip doesn't readily demonstrate intolerance, given that mere opposition is insufficient for "bigotry," and indeed given that he does not really refer to those of differing beliefs, and given that the only prejudice he exhibits is, at least according to my reply above, a prejudice against really old candidates and really anti-meritocratic candidates, I have to assume the reason you consider this a reply to my post is this:

"And this is the opposite of bigotry.  You even recognize that your perceptions may be colored by pre-existing beliefs about the film, but determine to keep your mind open and to withhold judgment until you've investigated it for yourself."

So an equivalent statement from Matt Damon might be, "I know I'm wary of her because she's Republican, but I'll keep an open mind until it's pretty clear who Sarah Palin is." While I hold that he would have been right at that time to register skepticism about her total absence of experience, her anti-intellectual persona, and various rumors circulating at the time, unfortunately the best defense against this particular point is the rather feeble (in principle) defense that his instincts were largely accurate.

[Bulldog]

The only thing about Matt Damon that interests me is his acting skill.  As for Palin, the more I know about her, the less well I think of her.

[Todd]

Why anyone would pay an actor any mind in regards to politics in the first place, is beyond me?

Amen. 

I do pay special attention to what super-models think, though.

[Philoctetes]

'Tis a pity that even basic critical thinking is in such short supply.

Really Ross?

Amen. 

I do pay special attention to what super-models think, though.

I'm down with that last statement. My favorite is Tara Stiles.

[greg]

I do pay special attention to what super-models think, though.

I'm down with that last statement. My favorite is Tara Stiles.

wut