Is "sheeple" hate speech?

[Birthmark]

It is, in my view. It is a derogatory term aimed at an entire class of people who share only one characteristic, little or no interest in politics. Well, maybe two since the same type of people who happen to vote the way that *we* want them to aren't generally referred to as "sheeple" - only those who have little interest and vote the other way or don't vote at all are assigned this insult. It is simply an attempt to dehumanize those with whom we disagree. IOW, it is hate speech.

This has bothered me for some time. Do such terms belong on this board?

<steps off soapbox>

[MrMonk]

1. Not hateful, just contemptuous

"Sheeple" is defined as any group of people, whether real or imaginary, who do not share the speaker's delusions.

[TahitiNut]

60. Ahhh... "The Lord is my Shepherd. Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me"?

Lamb of God? :eyes:

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." - John 10:27

That's the Bible - contemptuoous all the way.

[johnfunk]

67. No, it's not

... unless your target is prejudiced against leg of lamb.

[donheld]

2. I totally disagree

What other term that we call "hate speech" does this phrase fit: "If the shoe fits wear it"? People are born gay, black, puerto rican etc. people are not born "sheeple"

[Birthmark]

5. You have information to back up the assertion...

...that interest in politics is entirely up to the individual? Just how much of our personality is genetic and how much environment? I don't think anyone knows that. That being the case, is it not just possible, even probable, that large numbers of people who are only superficially interested in politics have a lack of interest due at least in part to genes?

Certainly, genetics plays some part in one's intelligence (again, how much is unknown.) It seems likely enough that many with below average intelligence would find politics hard to follow in detail, even impossible. I don't know how often this occurs within that group, but statistically it *must* occur. So, are these folks born "sheeple", aren't they?

Side question, don't answer if you don't want to: Have you ever seen "sheeple" used in reference to those with whom the writer agrees?

[donheld]

12. Sheeple behavior is genetic???

that's a bit of a stretch i would think. Maybe in some respect but in our lazy ass country where people get such poor education many times, it's not much of a stretch to think that many are that way through sheer laziness.

On edit: you remember many of these people call themselves "dittoheads"

[Birthmark]

13. I don't think anyone knows.

Political behavior may be an aspect of our individual indentity that is entirely free of genetic influence. That seems highly unlikely to me, but I'm not terribly well-versed in genetics. But if there is a possibility that genetics plays a significant role in our political outlook, then isn't dehumanizing people based upon those outlooks roughly equivalent to racism, in spirit at least?

[readmoreoften]

43. NO n/t

[AliciaKeyedUp]

20. Sheeple is sort of hate-everyody speech

Just classic I'm-smarter-than-everyone-else crap.

[donheld]

34. Bullshit

[AliciaKeyedUp]

35. Thanks for the intelligent response

Your wit is withering.

[RetroLounge]

47. Kinda like your post, huh?

RL

[AliciaKeyedUp]

50. Not at all

To call someone on their own arrogance is not arrogance, it's just being observant. I don't claim to be smarter than 90% of the nation or whatever. The use of the term "sheeple" contains that kind of arrogance.

It only hurts our cause, which is why some posters around here use it.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

54. "Our", "we", "Liberal"

:boring:

This is really getting tiresome...

:eyes:

[AliciaKeyedUp]

56. Yes you are

And your lame attempts to paint me as something dark and foreboding aren't even intelligent enough to alert on. They are merely pathetic.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

57. Your posts are consistent

as is your insulting behaviour. Pay DU $5 and get a star and you can use the handy search function.

There is nothing dark or forboding about your posts. They are merely transparent, that's all.

Good night! :hi:

[AliciaKeyedUp]

61. When I have the money

DU will get it.

As for consistent, yours certainly are. Abusive and ominous.

Have a nice day.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

62. Abusive? Hardly. Straightforward? You bet.

[Maddy McCall]

3. I think it's a word that demonstrates a lack of imagination on the part...

of the person who uses it. The irony, to me, is that the people who use the word "sheeple" to refer to a group of people are actually "sheeple" themselves, because they lack sufficient original thought to come up with a term that everyone else isn't using.

Sheeple is soooo....yesterday.

[depakid]

4. Such terms absolutely belong on this board

because they accurately describe the characteristics a large subset of the population that lacks critical thinking skills and is easily misled into acting against their own (and everyone else's) best interests.

If the term "sheeple" bothers you, you can always use the Latin" Ovis Sapiens.

[Birthmark]

6. Best interests according to whom?

Isn't that the crux of the matter; that we perceive their self-interest better than they do? That reminds me of an English word, arrogance.

[depakid]

8. You make my point quite well, actually

sheeple often don't know what's in their best interest- nor do they recognize that what's in their best interests may well be in the bests interests of others, too. Universal health care is a classic example. A sheeple will bleat "socialism" every time the issue is brought up (not that they know what spocialism really is- but that doesn't matter to sheeple). Socialism baaaad. That's the limit to the power of their thoughts.

They believe what they're told- and they have those beliefs reinforced constantly by the right wing media- even when the slightest critical inquiry would demonstrate that they're laboring under mispconceptions.

[Birthmark]

10. Again, best interests according to whom?

By what criteria have you decided that universal health care is in their best interest? I happen to agree that it is, but I also happen to know that that is a *belief* and not necessarily a fact, and that there are other criteria for making a judgement.

In any event, calling such people "sheeple" is no better, imo, than when "they" bleat socialism.

You know, just for the hell of it I'd like to know what freepers mean when they say "sheeple." I'll bet it's the exact same definition, only with left wingers being "sheeple."

[m berst]

7. it is a little creepy

Given the current political climate, the police state tendencies of this adminstration and the violent hatred out there, anything that de-humanizes people seems ill-advised and counter-productive to me.

[sonicx]

9. should we stop calling republicans names too?

[Birthmark]

11. No. They are bastards.

:)

They are in active opposition to our POV. They are frequently not very moral about how the oppose, either. IOW, they are actively doing something, as opposed to the group we're talking about whose only drawback as far as I can tell is that they agree with the other side - usually for superficial reasons.

[Liberal Veteran]

14. Sheeple, lemmings....take your pick.

Other than a select few, they aren't really doing much at all except listening and regurgitating what they get from the likes of AM radio and Fox News.

Just look at those silly "Support Our Troops" ribbons. For less than the cost of a single latte, you to can "support" the troops in the most meaningless way imaginable, by sticking a non-defacing magnetic sticker on your car.

I can't tell that these people are cognizant of facts at all anymore.

The Iraqi people are now apparently ALL terrorists (or at least those who don't support our occupation) and we elected a nutjob "C" student to the White House who fucking started a war based on a pack of lies and killed 10's of thousands of people in the process. Apparently because they have bought into this oft-repeated notion given to them by the talking heads from paragraph 1 that the democratic party would do nothing to combat terrorism and that we really want a president who espouses the kind of McChristian values that our country has become famous for (a veneer of values and piety that hides an incredible amount of greed and self-importance and hatred that lies just beneath the surface).

And then when you really drill down into these people and try to figure out how they think, very few give compelling answers. We get shit like "Well, I just didn't like the way Kerry looked" or "Bush is someone I'd like to have a beer with" or "I didn't get Kerry's message" (which is kind of hard to do when you have your eyes and ears glued to the likes of Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and think you are getting "fair and balanced" opinion) or the ever frustrating "I'm not sure why I voted for Bush.".

Following the crowd of the edge of a cliff while you are being lied to and the information is right there if you simply open your eyes is being a sheeple or a lemming. It's not like you really have to work all that hard to see through the bullshit going on in our country.

So no, I don't feel bad about calling them sheeple or lemmings or any other word that describes the kind of people that allow themselves to be led by the nose by people they "think" are more informed than them and believing the spin even after it becomes apparent the spin is wrong.

It's a hell of a lot nicer than what they call us: traitors, America-haters, lowlifes, valueless, welfare bums, and a host of other nasty things.

[PretzelzRule]

45. AMEN! THANK YOU!!

Very well said.

:thumbsup:

[American Tragedy]

16. I've more respect for intelligent opposition than for the indifferent

Apathy and willful ignorance is incomprehensible to me. It's like standing on a massive boat loaded with rafts and lifejackets, and totally ignoring thousands of people drowning and screaming for help. They have the power to learn and the power to act just as much as I do, and they squander it.

In terms of civic duty, sins of omission are inexcusable, and that is the guilt of the indifferent. They don't care, and in doing so they directly enable our enemies, and cripple those of us who do care and who grieve for the future.

I reserve the right to hold contempt for them, and I will call a spade a spade.

[Birthmark]

23. What is this "civic duty?"

Where can I find the laws regarding this? Or is this just your own sensiblities?

[American Tragedy]

48. Democracy is tyranny, without the participation of informed constituents

I don't think it's all that much to ask that citizens do a tiny bit of research, and go to the polls once in a while and vote accordingly. Yes, it is my own sensibility, but I suspect it is shared with many here. There shouldn't have to be laws to govern that.

[American Tragedy]

15. Posts like this remind me of why I hate political correctness

[Birthmark]

22. I'm not a fan of PC, either.

However, I fail to see how that is relevant to my question. I haven't and won't call for the term to be banned. I think that I have raised a legitimate point.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. naah...it's just hackneyed

[Forkboy]

24. We have a winner!

:)

[Bat Boy]

38. Amen to that...

It was clever once, but it's become a simplistic catch-all.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Blue Wally]

19. Not hate speech

But the constant referrence to them as sheeple, knuckledraggers, and mouthbreathers sue isn't doing much to win them over (which you have to do to get a majority).

[BiggJawn]

25. Oh, no, not the "win them over" meme again....

How, pray tell, do we do that? Have them listen to AAR? What do you say to 'em when they ask you "Hey, that Al Franken...Didn't he write a book called 'Rush Limbaugh is a big fat Idiot'?"

Thinking that we can "win over" the mouthbreathers is as much a fantasy as wooing the mythical flighty "oh, the election's today and I don't know who I'm gonna vote for" "Swing Voter"...

[Blue Wally]

31. If you feel that way

We can always end up being a ten or fifteen per cent of the electorate party. All we have to do is vote the DLC and other "non-believers" off of the island.

[BiggJawn]

49. Life's too short, Wally...

They've been drinking the Kool-Aid for so long that we could give 'em Guinness and they'd think we pissed in it, because that's what Ann--Thrax Coulter told 'em.

You wanna go woo the ditto-heads, you go right ahead. Me, I think I'll waste my time on more productive pursuits, like trying to turn Lead into Gold...

[blindpig]

21. if the shoe fits.......

Before the election I had grown to dislike the term. Post election it's back in my lexicon in bold caps.

[BiggJawn]

26. So George Orwell engaged in "Hate Speech"?

In "Animal Farm", what animal was used to represent the stupid majority, who unquestioningly believed everything the pigs laid on them? Why it was the SHEEP, of course!

"Two legs Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-d! Four legs Go-o-o-o-o-d!"

A thought process like you used to arrive at your believe that "Sheeple" is hate speech is another reason why the Right laughs at us. they have no such qualms when it comes to labeling us.

In case you have any doubt, I *DO* hold such uninvolved sheep in contempt. Oh, they're plenty well informed, all right, they watch FAUXNOOZ (they're Fair and Balanced, dija know that?) and listen to Gush Pfleghmball every day. Very well informed! <sarcasm>

All they can tell you about John Kerry is that he rides a surfboard, a $50,000 bicycle, and when he got back from VietNam, he rode Jane Fonda, too...

Sheeple....The Murkan version of the '30's "Good German"...

[donhakman]

27. bigjawn is right

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2813808

A person of conscience will certainly have more qualms than a fundie but lets not overdo it.

I actually have more of my cartoons removed by the alert crazy members here than on other websites.

Sheeple was used by hate radio jock Michael Savage to describe liberals. He also used the terms mentally ill traitors for Democrats.
Savage was a radio shill for the extreme right that called for violence against all left wing demonstrators or people who voice dissent/treason. Once he criticized The Bush administration for not adopting an extreme immigration policy, he was dropped by many Clear Channel stations.

[BillZBubb]

28. No, not hate, just the truth.

It's not aimed a people with "little or no interest in politics" either. That is a straw man.

People who bleat out the Repug/Fundie party lines without a clue how to back them up are sheeple. People who ignore the facts and vote Repug/Fundie are sheeple. People who listen to and are influenced by any of the right wing "entertainers" or televangelists are sheeple. Those who think Fox News is fair and balanced are sheeple.

If the term bothers you tough. It's a fact and there are too many sheeple. That's why we have a moron in the White House.

[SmokingJacket]

29. If so, so is "idiots." n/t

[Walt Starr]

30. No, Sheeple are hateful people

:evilgrin:

[ElectroPrincess]

39. Yeah when good ole' ROVER is able to corral them

with rants of talking points ... the "mob hate mentality" is breath taking ... especially when the MEN begging to call CSPAN and rabidly foam at the mouth about "killin' babies in the womb." Why don't these stellar men offer to adopt, or pledge to raise these fetuses instead of disowning them as soon as they are born live babies.

It's freaky to watch some of these right wingers "go off" on those EVIL leftist liberals. What's even more frightening is these people are SHEEPLE brainwashed to mentally jump off the cliff with rage.

* uses wedge issues about morality to pit factions of working class sheeple against each other. Because it works, I watch in horror as these - appropriately named SHEEPLE - hate others they should be uniting with to raise empower themselves out of poverty.

Sheeple = Insane. :(

[Javaman]

32. "fatty fatty boom ba latty" will now be banned as hate speach....

King of the Hill

[indigobusiness]

33. Nobody pays any attention to the high philosophers

of our day.

[mark414]

36. yes

it is hateful towards sheep

[bloom]

63. LOL

:)

[neebob]

37. I don't think so

but many of the sheeple would probably say it is. :)

[scottxyz]

40. Yes, it's unfair to sheep

nt

[clem_c_rock]

41. I GUESS IT WILL SOON BE HATE SPEECH TO CALL STUPID PEOPLE STUPID

After all the moderates are listening to all sides of the story in a moderate sort of way, nothing gets done, years go by and millions of people eat shit.

[readmoreoften]

42. This is just ridiculous.

While 'sheeple' are mindlessly fueling an economy that is stripping our civil rights and murdering 10s of 1000s of Iraqis, Afghanis, and whoever else is on the hit list next... you're wondering if we're being 'big meanies' by calling a spade a spade.

If words cause little emotional boo boos to people who are guilty of what is tantamount to mass-manslaughter then I'll exercise my first amendment rights and not waste MY precious brainpower.

And no, people are not genetically politically apathetic. Sorry.

[UdoKier]

44. No, it's not hate speech. It's insulting, but not bigotry.

"Sheeple" are what they are. Their ignorance and apathy is as dangerous to our society as right-wing greed, lust for power, and hatred.

[sendero]

46. LOL....

... what a bunch of bullshit.

First of all, your definition of sheeple is lacking. It covers not only those who don't care to be bothered with politics, it also encompasses those who have a 10 cent understanding of a 100 dollar issue.

Sheeple is too nice a word for them, they are fascist enablers. Does that sound hateful to you?

You define Dems however you want to, but folks with your mindset are what got Dems into this unholy place, and ignoring folks like you is going to get us out. By sitting around pondering absolutely irrelevant piffle such as "is sheeple hate speech", the right has successfully painted us as a bunch of indecisive hand-wringers. The reason they have had such an easy time of it is that they are all too often correct.

I run hot and cold on the whole issue of "hate speech", but one thing for certain, this isn't it.

[Swamp Rat]

59. HAHAHA!

"...sheeple... those who have a 10 cent understanding of a 100 dollar issue." - Very funny!!!

I agree. Sheeple is a nice word for lazy fucktard lemmings who don't care about anything but their green grass.

[Cobalt Violet]

51. No, sheeple isn't hate speech.

I'm in favor of the term. I enjoy when others use it. I enjoy using it.
Attack me for my opinion if you will.

I'm not indiscriminately nice.

To me Fox news views = sheeple.

[Gemini Cat]

52. The word 'sheeple' is not hate speech.

Sheeple is a good description of those who can't think for themselves. The same people who'd like to take my rights away or even kill me, because hannity-coulter-o'liely- said they should do so.
They are the shits of nature who voted for their little frat boy against their own best interests, because their 'preacher man' who sits in a golden chair with his pink haired wife, told them to or they were stupid enough to think the frat boy would drink a beer with them. Or the frat boy would keep them 'safe.'

These are the morAns who worry themselves into a TIZZY over the two guys down the street and what those two guys are up to, never mind the fact their very own jobs are being out-sourced, their health care is for shit, their kid may be drafted, there are bills to pay, but Sam and John or Jane and Sara better not be kissing!

They get themselves into a collective snit about foetus, until the foetus is born then it can starve. And, if one asks them about it, they just shrug their shoulders and say, that's not their concern. They can't think about all that business.

They are the ones who squeal with orgasmic yells telling me to remember 09.11, but they themselves forget all about their little bushie terd sitting and picking his nose in a Floridian classroom and then hiding.


They can help being STUPID. The information is out there. All they need to do is a little reading and think a little bit.

What else is there to call them, other than sheeple?

[Gyre]

53. Hate speech enhancements are thankfully limited in application.

Hurting somebody's feelings isn't a crime (yet).

Most people who commit assaultive crimes are committing an assault because they don't like somebody. Hate crimes are actually sentencing enhancements tacked onto ordinary crimes because the assailant says some specific hateful things to the victim before or during an assault. They require proving that the substantive crime was committed primarily due to a hatred of some "protected class" (specific intent).

"Sheeple" wouldn't apply, since "Sheeple" aren't a protected class. So go ahead and batter some of them sheeple and you've only got the battery/assault charges to worry about. :) No battery or assault =s no worries. Now, on the other hand, using "Fighting words" (ie, words likely to incite a brawl) in a taunt is punishible as a misdemeanor on rare occasions in California.

Gyre

[mattclearing]

55. I don't like it, as I like to believe the best in people.

In Men in Black, there was an exchange where Will Smith's character says, "People are smart," and TLJ's character says something to the effect of, "No, a person is smart. People are slow, reactionary, scared, and make irrational decisions."

Sheeple is an outgrowth of that, and while it's hard to deny, I think it takes complex individuals and characterizes them by group mentality and behavior. A form of dismissive name-calling, if you will.

It is a form of over-generalization to make a dubious point.

[sendero]

65. I didn't make this country ....

... the way it is, and I don't have to like the country the way it is, but I refuse to put on blinders and not see the way it is.

Your argument might have held some sway before last month. Forget fraud - even it there was fraud it was only a tiny portion of the total votes.

When you study the reasons people voted for Bush**, "sheeple" is really too kind a word to describe them. And half the country falls into that category, so excuse me if I use a broad brush.

[MrSlayer]

58. Please.

Save it for the battles worth fighting, this is ludicrous.

[leesa]

64. I think it's a clever descriptive term for people that can't be roused

enough from their stupor to care about their country or their children's future.

[bloom]

66. does not fit definition

Europeans Outlaw Net Hate Speech

http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,56294,00.html

" Specifically, the amendment bans "any written material, any image or any other representation of ideas or theories, which advocates, promotes or incites hatred, discrimination or violence, against any individual or group of individuals, based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well as religion if used as pretext for any of these factors."

It also obliquely refers to the Holocaust, outlawing sites that deny, minimize, approve or justify crimes against humanity, particularly those that occurred during World War II.

"The emergence of international communication networks like the Internet provide certain persons with modern and powerful means to support racism and xenophobia and enables them to disseminate easily and widely expressions containing such ideas," the council's report on the amendment states. "In order to investigate and prosecute such persons, international cooperation is vital."

-------


Anyone would probably want to be mindful to avoid the blind following of corrupt individuals/groups who have no regard for people generally and sow divisions for their own greedy purposes.

[SarahB]

68. "hate speech"?

A bit dramatic, huh? :eyes: