{"id":55218,"date":"2015-09-15T11:45:59","date_gmt":"2015-09-15T16:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=55218"},"modified":"2015-09-15T12:09:48","modified_gmt":"2015-09-15T17:09:48","slug":"rent-seekers-seeking-rent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=55218","title":{"rendered":"Rent-Seekers Seeking Rent"},"content":{"rendered":"

SCENE: \u00a0Mitch BERG is sitting on his porch, working on his next book project. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"chanting_points_200px\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Avery LIBRELLE walks through the gate from his back yard and toward the sidewalk.<\/em><\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0Um, hello, Avery? \u00a0Hanging out in my back yard, were we?<\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0Oh, I was sorting your trash.<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0Looking for recyclables?<\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0No. \u00a0Evidence of thoughtcrime.<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0Huh. I burn\u00a0all of that.<\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0Hah! \u00a0There’s some evidence of thoughtcrime!<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0Of course.<\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0Hey – speaking of thoughtcrime – Ben Carson is a hypocrite. \u00a0He speaks out against welfare – but he and his mother used it!<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0Yeah, I just saw the photomeme your side has been passing around:<\/p>\n

\"12006268_1228118237213685_1860766794852761403_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0Yeah! \u00a0Hypocrite! \u00a0His entire success was rooted in the welfare system! \u00a0Hypocrite!<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0Well, if his\u00a0entire\u00a0<\/em>success was rooted in the system, then every child growing up on welfare would be a doctor or a lawyer, wouldn’t they?<\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0He’s still a hypocrite!<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0OK, let’s just for get for a moment that the whole “argument” is a logical fallacy…<\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0That’s a stereotype! \u00a0Trigger warning! \u00a0Trigger warning!<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0No,\u00a0fallacy<\/em>. \u00a0It’s a\u00a0Tu Quoque Ad Hominem<\/em> – saying that because someone has ever\u00a0said, or done, or believed something that’s at odds with their argument, their argument is invalid. \u00a0It’s like saying because someone was once\u00a0in\u00a0<\/em>the Klan, they could never speak out\u00a0against\u00a0<\/em>the Klan.<\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0But he’s not a former Klan member! \u00a0His mom was on welfare! \u00a0He grew up in the system! \u00a0It made him what he is today!<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0So you’re claiming credit for Ben Carson’s success on behalf of the welfare system? \u00a0Fair enough. \u00a0Will you claim “credit”\u00a0for all the people of all races who’ve become multi-generational dependents of the system?<\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0There is no such thing! \u00a0The science is settled!<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0Of course it is. \u00a0Look – what you\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>saying is this; if someone’s ancestors went on welfare, to which they are entitled – because welfare is, for better or worse, an entitlement in this country – and that person not only uses the system\u00a0exactly the way it was intended to be used<\/em>, but goes on to succeed far above and beyond any rational expectations, that person\u00a0isn’t allowed to point out what an exception to the rule he is, and how the welfare system as it is today *harms* the upward mobility that he experienced?<\/p>\n

In other words, if you’re born into the system, don’t care speak out against the system, because the system owns you and everything you are, think and believe, forever?<\/p>\n

Doesn’t that pretty much prove Carson correct? \u00a0That you, the system’s supporter, are using it as a form of intellectual indentured servitude?<\/p>\n

LIBRELLE: \u00a0Steven Colbert! \u00a0John Oliver! \u00a0Rachel Maddow! \u00a0Neil DeGrasse Tyson!<\/p>\n

BERG: \u00a0Of course.<\/p>\n

(And SCENE<\/em>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCENE: \u00a0Mitch BERG is sitting on his porch, working on his next book project. \u00a0 Avery LIBRELLE walks through the gate from his back yard and toward the sidewalk. BERG: \u00a0Um, hello, Avery? \u00a0Hanging out in my back yard, were we? LIBRELLE: \u00a0Oh, I was sorting your trash. BERG: \u00a0Looking for recyclables? LIBRELLE: \u00a0No. \u00a0Evidence […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[187,108],"tags":[236],"class_list":["post-55218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-campaign-16","category-chanting-points-memo","tag-dramatization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=55218"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55224,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55218\/revisions\/55224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=55218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=55218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=55218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}