It’s very sad but true that this critique could be applied almost anywhere in the US but also in a lot of Europe too (particularly the UK - based on my knowledge).
Valente has inspired me.
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Aye, ya wee baw-bag! 
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It must have felt good to write that. It probably feels good to read it. I got about 75% of the way thru, and though I agree with every point I read, I stopped.
The people who need to read it won’t. And, really, I can’t imagine anyone actually thinks calling people stupid a-holes for that many words is going to change their minds. Yeah, I know Valente wasn’t out and saying “you’re stupid a-holes,” but that message was shouting from every space and punctuation mark. Again, I totally agree.
But screeds and rants won’t change any minds. They’re reactionary and conservative by nature, buttressing existing opinions. That piece makes me feel good, but it doesn’t teach anyone anything. So it goes.
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You know, it’s true that quite a lot (surely most) of the people who need to read this terrific piece of writing the most will not read it. But a side-benefit of posting it is that someone else who feels roughly the same but who hasn’t dared to wade in might feel more emboldened to speak up against the hateful. Or their arguments will get a little more honed from reading this. Or they will just feel a little less alone in their sadness that their fellow citizens are acting like such utter sociopaths. Bravo Ms Valente.
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If it’s not effective, at least it’s cathartic. On the one hand it’s probably not going to change anyone’s mind, on the other I feel like it’s still important to let hives know that dissenting views exist. Maybe it’s a matter of repetition? If the same messages can be pounded out again and again, people will come around. After all, I think that’s why many people have turned to bigotry - and the internet/facebook are the ultimate media for repeating/amplifying a message. People seem to have predisposition to both xenophobia and tolerance/acceptance, so it’s a matter of creating the right messages and conditions for the tolerant side to win out.
If that sounds like I’m talking in circles, I guess I am, but I think I just convinced myself that this kind of response can be effective in the long run. Just need to make sure it’s real people on the receiving end, and not a bot or troll.
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Interesting. Thanks for the response!
I look forward to the time when Americans begin to use some of our other gems such as ‘cock-womble’, and ‘thunder-cunt’.
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Until you call them Scotts. (Hint: one t)
But confusion is understandable if you’ve seen this. The kilt and the name of the firm are coincidental. 
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Sorry! For some reason Scots is getting autocorrected to Scotts. I had to click the blue line to get it to leave it alone.
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That’s what makes it so effective here. I’m all for the increase of Britishisms in speech, especially where a descriptive expletive is needed. They help to get the point across and provide needed exclamatory, while remaining neutral to those who would take offense at more hard-edged American-style cursing.
Awesome screed miss Valente, keep it up.
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No, I needed it explained to me originally.
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Maybe the fact that, in British English, everything is a double entendre makes it more readily understood over here.
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Maybe that’s the Invisible Hand of the Free Market fuckin’ with you. Spellfecker probably offers sponsored words to big business
@anothernewbbaccount I take exception to “Scott’s Porage Oats” billing itself as “The True Taste of Scotland”; it tastes nothing like sectarianism, alcohol fueled violence, haggis and temazepam.
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Did someone call for a Nedgroni?
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“You lost me when you started on your class warfare bit, lousy commie!” (/s)
I believe Breitbart and other sites are harping on this issue, which would explain how quickly it became a cesspool of racist hatred on another site like NextDoor.
Here’s an African immigrant for you: “If everyone in the world was a Manute Bol, it’s a world I’d want to live in.”-- Charles Barkley
As a born-and-bred New Englander I have occasionally heard it in these parts, still rare though. Maybe it’s something we inherited with all the transplanted UK place names.
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There is light on their horizon. This, today…
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Cool. Alcohol addiction is so shite; a rubbish drug that is so easily accessible.
Edit: now with added “c” in “addition”; thanks to @anothernewbbaccount
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Hear hear! This needs to be republished in every goddamn newspaper and website in the goddamn country.
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