tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29524018.post7581083849046216427..comments2024-01-22T19:10:23.007-05:00Comments on A Commonplace Book: Religion and Culture are ComplicatedWill McLeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14685409952186547597noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29524018.post-83069765838019456152011-10-24T18:14:32.651-05:002011-10-24T18:14:32.651-05:00And my point is that the dubious FBI training mate...And my point is that the dubious FBI training material that the ACLU has been complaining about is often like the second hypothetical example I gave, not the first. And some of it goes downhill from there.Will McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14685409952186547597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29524018.post-47270087152152191872011-10-23T22:25:00.860-05:002011-10-23T22:25:00.860-05:00Exactly my point, G.Exactly my point, G.Hugh Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16542885684779106386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29524018.post-86924321991226107272011-10-23T20:59:32.635-05:002011-10-23T20:59:32.635-05:00Societies can be characterized by broad-brush stat...Societies can be characterized by broad-brush statements about general trends. Sometimes the simplification is helpful and sometimes it's a crude stereotype that does more harm than good.<br /><br />Not only must they be applied with common sense, they must be expressed in a reasonable form.<br /><br />If you say "The culture of the American South tends towards a higher level of lethal violence than the Northeast", that's one thing. If you say "the Southerner is violent" that's another.Will McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14685409952186547597noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29524018.post-30631025178633292542011-10-22T22:36:09.769-05:002011-10-22T22:36:09.769-05:00What you say is very true. It is, however, a fact...What you say is very true. It is, however, a fact that societies can be characterized by broad-brush statements about general trends within that society.<br /><br />Can we say that as a general rule, muslims do not eat pork? Of course we can, and any manufacturer of hot dogs who wishes to sell to a Muslim community would do very well to be aware of this fact. Is this a universal truth? Of course not; we simply have to recognize that this is a useful generalization, and nothing more. Only a fool would pretend that all muslims absolutely abstain from pork, but only a greater fool would ignore the general rule. That's the thing about general rules: The fact that they must be applied with a healthy dose of common sense does not make them untrue.Hugh Knighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16542885684779106386noreply@blogger.com