Thursday, November 13, 2008

Some unsurprising research about liberals


John Kass at Chicagotribune.com tells us about the Brave Catherine Vogt Experiment - - -

Catherine Vogt, 14, is an Illinois 8th grader, the daughter of a liberal mom and a conservative dad. She wanted to conduct an experiment in political tolerance and diversity of opinion at her school in the liberal suburb of Oak Park.

She noticed that fellow students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School overwhelmingly supported Barack Obama for president. His campaign kept preaching "inclusion," and she decided to see how included she could be.

So just before the election, Catherine consulted with her history teacher, then bravely wore a unique T-shirt to school and recorded the comments of teachers and students in her journal. The T-shirt bore the simple yet quite subversive words drawn with a red marker:

"McCain Girl."

"I was just really curious how they'd react to something that different, because a lot of people at my school wore Obama shirts and they are big Obama supporters," Catherine told us. "I just really wanted to see what their reaction would be."

Immediately, Catherine learned she was stupid for wearing a shirt with Republican John McCain's name. Not merely stupid. Very stupid.

"People were upset. But they started saying things, calling me very stupid, telling me my shirt was stupid and I shouldn't be wearing it," Catherine said.

Then it got worse.

"One person told me to go die. It was a lot of dying. A lot of comments about how I should be killed," Catherine said, of the tolerance in Oak Park.

But students weren't the only ones surprised that she wore a shirt supporting McCain.

"In one class, I had one teacher say she will not judge me for my choice, but that she was surprised that I supported McCain," Catherine said. . . .

"Later, that teacher found out about the experiment and said she was embarrassed because she knew I was writing down what she said," Catherine said.

One student suggested that she be put up on a cross for her political beliefs.

"He said, 'You should be crucifixed.' It was kind of funny because, I was like, don't you mean 'crucified?' " Catherine said.

Other entries in her notebook involved suggestions by classmates that she be "burned with her shirt on" for "being a filthy-rich Republican."

Some said that because she supported McCain, by extension she supported a plan by deranged skinheads to kill Obama before the election.

And I thought such politicized logic was confined to American newsrooms. Yet Catherine refused to argue with her peers. She didn't want to jeopardize her experiment. …

Only a few times did anyone say anything remotely positive about her McCain shirt. One girl pulled her aside in a corner, out of earshot of other students, and whispered, "I really like your shirt."

That's when you know America is truly supportive of diversity of opinion, when children must whisper for fear of being ostracized, heckled and crucifixed.

The next day, in part 2 of The Brave Catherine Vogt Experiment, she wore another T-shirt, this one with "Obama Girl" written in blue. And an amazing thing happened.

Catherine wasn't very stupid anymore. She grew brains.

"People liked my shirt. They said things like my brain had come back, and I had put the right shirt on today," Catherine said. …

[She] turned her journal into a report for her history teacher, earning Catherine extra credit.

We asked the teacher, Norma Cassin-Pountney, whether it was ironic that Catherine would be subject to such intolerance from pro-Obama supporters in a community that prides itself on its liberal outlook.

"That's what we discussed," Cassin-Pountney said about the debate in the classroom when the experiment was revealed. "I said, here you are, promoting this person [Obama] that believes we are all equal and included, and look what you've done? The students were kind of like, 'Oh, yeah.' I think they got it."

Catherine never told us which candidate she would have voted for if she weren't an 8th grader. But she said she learned what it was like to be in the minority.

"Just being on the outside, how it felt, it was not fun at all," she said.

Don't ever feel as if you must conform, Catherine. Being on the outside isn't so bad. Trust me.

Kass’ entire column’s here.

My hat’s off to Catherine Vogt for having the guts and maturity to conduct the experiment.

I’d guess her teacher, Norma Cassin-Pountney, is due some praise also.

Cassin-Pountney would have to be pretty dense not to know in advance what the results of the experiment would be.

Or that she will very likely get some looks and behind her back sneers at the least from fellow teachers, parents and students who just don’t like it when their liberalism or that of a loved one is exposed as having an intolerant core.

Finally, a hat tip to John Kass who repeatedly takes on and exposes the Dem/ liberal/leftist self-interests groups which run Chicago.

Thanks to AC for the link to Kass

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I get similar reactions whenever I wear my NRA cap or jacket. That's why I have so much respect for my leftwing associates.
Tarheel Hawkeye

Anonymous said...

What is bizarre to me is how can anyone be so incredulous to happen upon a McCain supporter when he got 46% of the vote.

But the insular nature of the Far Left goes beyond that. Upon hearing that I voted for Ronald Reagan once, a Chapel Hillian was stunned and acted like she had never encountered a Reagan voter. He got 59% of the vote in 1984 and won 49 of 50 states. It would never have occurred to me to be stunned to have met a Mondale voter -- after all, two in five voters chose him. He lost but 41% of the population is not insignificant.

Incidentally, this Chapel Hillian went on to talk about the importance of unions and how great they are. She drives an imported auto and has her kids in private school. Guess she does not think too much of the quality labor provided by the UAW and the NEA.

Anonymous said...

I have frequently encountered such people; when you quiz them on issues, they usually show very conservative leanings, but they vote straight Democrat party in every election. These are people who can't connect cause-effect very well. Of course, how could any thinking person NOT send their child to private school if they can afford it? And let's face it, many of us would happily drive a Ford or Checy if they'd start making quality automobiles--until then, I'm very pleased with my Toyota.
Tarheel Hawkeye