Now, I do not believe that all lawyers are geniuses. But I do think that getting a law degree takes a certain combination of ambition and intelligence beyond say, getting a job at the quickie mart. (Since I have both been in a pre-law program, and worked at quickie mart, I feel qualified to make this statement)
So here's this guy who is so vocally white supremecist that even after he passed the bar, the bar association wouldn't let him in because his racist views would prejudice him and keep him from fulfilling his duties as an attorney.
Just so you know, in order for the bar association to rule this way, you would have to be interjecting a racist comment in between just about every other word. There are a lot of quietly racist lawyers in the country, so just BEING a racist won't keep you out of the bar.
So my question is:
What happened to this guy? He is reasonably smart. He is fairly ambitious (he got his law degree and started his own racist organization). Why is he so filled with hate and venom that he is incapable of normal interaction in society?
I often wonder these things while reading stories lke this. I wonder how people get so broken. Any ideas?
Posts: 5383 | Registered: Dec 1999
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Being smart isn't a cure against being delusional or totally without empathy. Brain smarts can't do the work of heart smarts any more than my stomach is a good substitute for my hands. I can think critically, but have no sense of compassion for others.
Look at the phenomenon of RAD, where a kid can be staggeringly intelligent, but is unable to fathom interpersonal relationships. He studies them, but does not feel them.
This is why I do not believe that 'education is the key' to curing all social ills.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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So did you find quickie mart clerks to be in any way more prone to this type of behavior?
I don't know. Maybe he has Huntington's disease or mad cow, some kind of pathogen is literally eaten his brain. Not enough essential fatty acids? I know, too much videogames.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I am interested in the why's of it. We can't really know, but I am sure someone can speculate.
People aren't born racist. So, somehow, this guy was trained to be a venomous racist in spite of his intelligence.
See, I work with one really racist guy. He was raised in texas as part of a big white family of racists. I'm sure he grew up hearing nothing but slurs about black people.
But he is a smart guy. An MBA and CPA. And even though he'll tell a horrid racist joke when he thinks it's safe, he would NEVER say anything like that in front of a client, or in front of strangers. He can also work quite well with black people. He just keeps his crap to himself when they are around.
So, this lawyer is a special case. He literally can not or will not stop his racist comments, no matter who he is with. He couldn't even keep it to himself long enough to get into the bar association.
I mean, that's really extreme. How does one get so extreme? Racist to the point of self destruction?
Posts: 5383 | Registered: Dec 1999
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I think the real questions is "Was ever he was ever really not broken"? I've heard of this psycho before. He was the feature of the HBO documentary "Hate.com" He is way off the deep end. Why? I don't really know why. Why does a serial killer do what he or she does? Beat as child, not hugged enough? Dropped on his head? Would take a team of pshrinks to figure it out.
I would just like to point out 2 things.
One: As I recall from the documentary, he got his legal degree specifically as a means to legally spread his racism. It's not like he was a lawyer that suddenly became racist.
Two: This guy uses psuedo-religious theories to support his racist agenda. To the degree that he started a "Christian" church based on racism. He kind of reminds me of what I picture a lot of certain radical Islamic clerics are like... Yep, we have potentially violent religious pyschos home grown here in US too. I mean imagine if this guy killed people in the name of Christianity? Makes me feel for Muslums around the world that are upset to be associatd with zealous terrorists.
Posts: 181 | Registered: Jan 2004
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Hmmmmm... sounds like he wants to self-destruct. He works so hard to get his degree... and then sabotages everything.
Posts: 4953 | Registered: Jan 2004
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Why does anyone do anything to the point of self-destruction? they form themselves into a hard little ball of "I must be right" and they cannot accept change.
I heard a preacher recently, preahcing against the idea of a "rapture" at the end times. He said "if you see people going up, don't join them." ("the rapture" is a fundie christian idea that the faithful will be bodily lifted up and out of the way so they don't have to suffer through the end of the world, which, by all accounts, sucks).
Now, if I understand him right, this guy is saying, "if you see hard evidence that people who disagree with me are right, choose hell instead." That's about the ultimate self-destructive attitude: better to be right in hell than wrong in heaven.
... and it's all too easy to see if you look around.
[ April 08, 2004, 01:57 PM: Message edited by: The Digital Man ]
Posts: 26 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I agree with everything you said, but I am still curious about how it happens.
I know he was racist before he got his degree. I am just amazed at how much work he put into it, only to torpedo himself.
Again, people are not born filled with hate. And I know people who were raised with hate and prejudice, and can still function in society. So I wonder what sort of extreme circumstances create a monster like this, who can no longer function at all because of his hatred.
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The guy seems similar to Reverend Phelps, except that Phelps' hatred is marginally more acceptable, and I do not recall him actually advocating violence against gays. (I might be wrong on that.) He is sincere, and completely unwilling to compromise his principles... even if doing so would significantly further his chances of getting what he wants and believes is best. Also, his views are in danger of dying. He sees the end and is raging against the dying of the white.
Posts: 1364 | Registered: Feb 2003
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quote: See, I work with one really racist guy. He was raised in texas as part of a big white family of racists. I'm sure he grew up hearing nothing but slurs about black people.
But he is a smart guy. An MBA and CPA. And even though he'll tell a horrid racist joke when he thinks it's safe, he would NEVER say anything like that in front of a client, or in front of strangers. He can also work quite well with black people. He just keeps his crap to himself when they are around.
Does this person continue to delude himself that blacks are inferior even after working with them? I'm assuming these are professionals.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Like so many casual racists, he almost seems to be two different people in the same body.
While working with one of our partners, a black man who is an expert on setting up CRM systems, he is polite and complimentary. In fact, he even suggested allowing the CRM guy to rent space in our offices since his reputation was so good.
And then, when it's just him and another good old boy, he'll make the most incredibly racist comment about needing to move to a different neighborhood 'because the niggers are moving in'.
I mean, it's almost impossible to reconcile.
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