What else could endanger my progressive "cred," Mr. Shaw?

[Ian_rd]

In a short opinion piece over at HuffPost, Russell Shaw declares that anyone who smokes cigarettes loses all their "progressive cred" ("cred" is groovy street talk for "credibility" for those of you who aren't as hip as Russell Shaw). His logic, as you might expect, is based on the fact that cigarettes are produced by companies who create an unhealthy product, contribute heavily to Republican politicians, and for countless other reasons, not to mention by their very nature, are antithetical to progressive ideals.

Mr. Shaw hits on a basic concern of many socially conscious people, and we progressives can certainly count ourselves as such, which is the idea that we should consider the consequences of our actions. In this case, when we buy cigarettes, to what are we contributing with our money? This is why many of us don't shop at Wal-Mart or buy our gas at ExxonMobil stations. But this kind of "purist" ideology by Shaw is completely ridiculous and is often a tactic used by the Right to cast liberals as hypocrites on any number of issues. Many right-wingers dismiss the entire case presented in Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth because of the greenhouse emissions Al Gore certainly produced flying and driving to all of his presentations, and chuckle at people who want to stop the clear-cutting of forests when pointing out that their homes are framed with lumber.

But if Russell Shaw wants to play his purist game and declare that anyone who smokes loses all credibility for their progressive opinions and actions, I demand Mr. Shaw release the following information in order for the rest of us to judge his own credibility:

1. What kind of car do you drive, Mr. Shaw? And do you plant enough trees to offset your carbon emissions?
2. Go through every piece of clothing and every piece of electronics you own. Where was it made, Mr. Shaw?
3. Is everything you buy at the grocery store locally-grown and organic? Or are you contributing to the poisoning of the environment?
4. Do you eat meat and seafood? If so, how was it caught?
5. List the stores you patronize - all of them. Are they locally owned? Or are you contributing to the depression of your community's economy?
6. How do you know that the "Made in U.S.A." products in your home were made by Americans making a living wage? You don't? Better start some research!

OK, those should be a good place to start. When you have all this information, come back and post it at the Huffington Post and then we'll talk about progressive cred.

[cali]

1. Why would anyone care

about so-called progressive cred? Who could possibly care?

[maxsolomon]

2. its part of a catch-22 dismissal of advocates for change

unless you're gandhi you're a hypocrite.

its an effective logical fallacy - http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ad-hominem-tu-quoque.html

[zbdent]

5. Progressive "cred" vs Conservative "cred"

means that anyone who has one tiny flaw and is progressive is immediately dismissed as a hypocrite ... and yet a conservative with the baggage of thousands of pieces of evidence and sworn testimony by unimpeachable witnesses against him is honest and "persecuted" ...

[Norquist Nemesis]

3. Shaw's opinion of my "cred" has no bearing or authority

Screw him! I'm still voting for Democrats. I'm still supporting Democrats. And I'm still going to BE a Democrat/Liberal/Progressive whether he likes my "cred" or not!

Time for a cig break!

[TahitiNut]

4. If there's ANYTHING that endangers "progressive cred" it's ...

... sitting in judgment of the personal choices others make. There isn't a damned thing a person can do, including breathing, that doesn't, in some exercise of agonized logic or inflated rationalization, have some impact on others. Mere breathing itself consumes oxygen that might otherwise nurture another person and produces global-warming carbon dioxide.

What makes a person liberal (fuck the cowardly use of the term 'progressive'!) is their principled defense of the liberties of OTHERS!!! It's so fucking easy to support the choices other people make when it's the same as ours. That's not liberal; that's self-centered.

America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free, then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest." Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.

So fuck the attitudes of condemnation and marginalization where the descendants of The Princess and The Pea claim some 'harm' due to the public behavior of others that's lost in the ocean of harms we each freely inflict upon ourselves in the interest of our own self-gratification.

[Fierce]

6. You know, it's not hard to do the things you list.

People like to think it is, but it really isn't. I hear those things listed as a comeback a lot. I hear excuses and it pisses me off because it shows exactly what people have forgotten about the union label in this country.

[Beaverhausen]

7. That's right- I try to live a "progressive lifestyle"

I drive a hybrid, never shop at Wal Mart and try to shop at local stores whenever possible, I don't eat meat, I recycle everything I can, etc.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" - Ghandi

[Ian_rd]

10. And I don't smoke.

Not everyone can afford a new car, many people in small communities where Wal-Mart has already taken over either have to shop there or drive an hour one-way to pick up light bulbs and toilet paper (read: more carbon emissions), there's nothing wrong with meat in and of itself - just some of the ways people raise and process it, recycling is not available every place in the United States, etc.

My point is not to say that because we can't be perfect we shouldn't try at all. And since you feel the need to list your own "cred," I happen recycle all paper/cans/glass, I stay away from big box stores, I haven't been to a mall since probably '98, make a reasonable effort to buy American at all times, I live in a small apartment as a means to reduce my "footprint," and have also adapted into a low-consumption lifestyle ever since the book Affluenza changed my life. I don't even smoke.

But I also don't judge people, like Mr. Shaw, according to some list of qualifications I've put together to decide whether or not their opinion is worth a damn.

"Hmmm, Sally, that's a very eloquent argument against the IMF's economic priorities. But I see you're still driving that '88 pick-up. Y'know you could afford a hybrid if you really tried. So, uh, I guess you just don't have any cred with me. See ya."

You concede that you shop locally-owned "whenever possible." Just so you know, I don't condemn you as a hypocritical evil-doer for the occasions that you cannot.

[Beaverhausen]

11. Where in my post did I "condemn" anyone for not doing what I'm doing?

I just stated that where I can, I try to live in line with "progressive" ideals. Did I say other people should? Did I say I'm better than anyone else? No, I didn't. I was simply trying to prove that a person can make choices about the things.


Many people here on DU try to live that way- making as little impact on the planet as possible. I applaud them for it. I guess you will have a problem with that.

[Ian_rd]

12. My post is about Russell Shaw, not you.

And my response to you is to clarify what I perceived to be your (and Fierce's) interpretation of my post that I somehow have an aversion to people making a special effort to live in a way to effect positive change.

"Many people here on DU try to live that way- making as little impact on the planet as possible. I applaud them for it. I guess you will have a problem with that."

Let's not get ridiculous now. I listed the things I do for my part and made it pretty clear that I would not have a problem with others doing the same.

[Warpy]

8. My ancestry and my current bank balance would combine

to destroy my progressive cred if I owned up to either of them here.

We all do what we can do, though. Mr. Shaw needs to realize that progressivism is a journey, not a destination.

People who smoke were hooked when they were stupid teenagers trying to look hip and now they can't quit. It's got nothing to do with politics.

However, if you smoke around me in an enclosed space, I will throw up on you. That isn't a threat, it's a promise.

[warrens]

9. That's just sick

Political correctness now getting as bad as right-wing insanity.