Been There, Done That.

I first saw this Internet meme on the Liberal Logic 101 Facebook page.  The typo made me smile, but then right away I felt badly about that, because I know from experience how easily typos can occur.  Myself, I especially have trouble with homophones.  My brain says 'their' and my fingers type 'there' before I have a chance to intervene.  So "interprit" is no big deal since the meaning was understood, right?

What IS a big deal, however, is the misrepresentation of the truth.

New York city is about as "liberal" as anyplace in the country and there are a lot of taxi cabs here.  As you might expect in such a "socialist" stronghold, there are many, many regulations imposed on taxi and limousine services.

Fares are standardized and regulated, for example. And there is a rule that requires drivers to accept any fare to any destination within the five boroughs of the city. To see all the rules and regulations, you can visit the NYC TLC (New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission) website.

Of course, the fact that there is a rule does not mean every taxi driver follows it. It is not unheard of, for example, for a potential passenger to be left standing on the curb if the driver discovers that the destination is so remote that there is small chance of picking up a return fare. And though I've not experienced it myself, I suppose Muslim drivers have chosen not to pick up fares with service dogs.

But taxis and limousines have markings which identify them, which means that rule breakers, when reported, can be disciplined.

Here is the most recent memo on service animals:

Industry Notice #09-23 December 24, 2009
For Immediate Release
REMINDER TO TLC DRIVER LICENSEES:
SERVICE ANIMALS MUST BE WELCOMED
IN ALL TLC-LICENSED VEHICLES
TLC-licensed drivers are reminded that service
animals are required to be welcomed in all taxicabs and
For-Hire Vehicles (FHVs).
If a passengers states that an accompanying animal
is a service animal, the driver must, regardless of whether
the animal is or is not secured, allow them in the taxicab or
FHV.
Refusal to transport a passenger with a service
animal is classified as a service refusal and carries
penalties, upon conviction, up to and including TLC
license suspension or revocation.

Clearly it is unfair to suggest, as this meme does, that an individual Muslim driver's decision to refuse service to a passenger with a seeing-eye dog is authorized by the liberal lawmakers of New York City.

The second half of the meme references a lawsuit in the state of Washington.  The Attorney General filed a suit against a florist who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding ceremony.  The customer who placed the order had been a long-term customer but the proprietor would not provide flowers for his wedding because of her "relationship to Jesus Christ".

Washington has a law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation. The law requires that a florist who routinely provides wedding flowers for heterosexual weddings also provide them for same-sex couples.

Strangely, the two examples presented in this meme are exactly the same while being entirely different.

Both the Muslim taxi driver and the Christian florist are acting in accordance with the tenets of their respective religions.  Each clearly believes that it is more important to abide by those tenets than to comply with civil law. Both behaviors are examples of Civil Disobedience:  protest by peaceful non-compliance.

However, in the first case, the Muslim taxi driver who refuses to carry a service animal would be in violation of regulation and punished accordingly if reported and found guilty of the violation.  Therefore it cannot be said that liberals condone his behavior.

In the second case, the florist is breaking the law by refusing to provide equal service to all customers. Liberals, therefore, are correct in expecting the law to be upheld.

The thing about Civil Disobedience is that you have to be willing to pay the price for the disobedience.  If the taxi driver is caught he faces fines and eventually can lose his licence to drive a taxi.  The florist will have to decide if she's willing to forgo all her wedding flower business in order to avoid having to sell flowers for same sex weddings.

There is another possible recourse, however:  the taxi driver and the florist could work together to get such laws repealed, allowing each service provider in our society to decide which customers will be served and which will be turned away.

Here are some images to help us imagine what such a society might look like:

Things Liberals Hate

I don't like labels, and I don't join groups.  

I am not a Democrat, for example, even though for the past several elections I have voted mostly for Democratic candidates.  I am not a feminist, even though I recently donated money to Planned Parenthood.  I am not an atheist or an agnostic, even though I am not a member of any other organized religious group.  

And, honestly, I don't consider myself  "A Liberal", either, though after reading the preceding paragraph, I suppose most people would. 

I am a contributing member of a few select not-for-profit groups such as the botanic garden and an independent film house -- and I do have a AAA membership -- but by and large, the only labels I will embrace are inherent:  mother, daughter, sister, wife, American, etc.

What does this personal reflection have to do with the above Internet meme?  Nothing, really, except that I found it on the facebook page of  a group called "Things Liberals Hate", and since I do hate it quite a bit, I feel compelled to consider that I might be (whether I want to admit it or not), after all, "A Liberal".  

Let's see what we find out by deconstructing this meme.

The man pictured is Michael Bloomberg.  (Now there's a man with a LOT of labels!)  Currently he is Mayor of New York City.  

The text at the top of the meme refers to the ban on large size sugary drinks which Mayor Bloomberg has champions and the New York City Board of Health has approved.  This ban goes into effect next month. 

The text at the bottom of the meme refers to a program called CATCH (Connecting Adolescents To Comprehensive Healthcare) which was introduced into a small number of New York City schools last fall. 

At the risk of coming off as both a Liberal and a Feminist,  I will refrain from writing my opinions on the subjects of sugary drinks and contraception as they relate to public health and stick to the facts as they are misstated in this meme. 

The ban on drinks is actually, in a way, more aggressive than this meme suggests.  The measure will limit the sale of individual sized sugary drinks to 16 oz rather than 32 oz. Critics complain that it is not effective because there are so many beverages un-regulated.  Even Bloomberg acknowledges that the measure is primarily symbolic:

“All we’re doing here is educating. It forces you to see the difference.” Limiting the serving size forces people to consider how much they’re ingesting. 

The meme's description of the CATCH program  is wrong on all three counts.  Abortion pills are not being given to 12-year-olds in New York City schools without parental consent.  

First, CATCH is a program offered in a small number of high schools, where there are extremely few, if any at all, 12-year-olds. 

Secondly, the pill being made available by CATCH is Plan B One-Step which the Food and Drug Adminstration defines as:


" . . . effective in decreasing the chance of pregnancy if taken within 3 days after unprotected sexual intercourse.  The product contains higher levels of a hormone found in some types of daily use oral hormonal contraceptive pills and works in a similar way to birth control pills."

RU 486, the so-called 'abortion pill'  is not being offered.  The difference between the two is fairly obvious:  the first prevents pregnancy and the second terminates a pregnancy. 

Finally, parents are given a tool to opt out of having their children receive any or all of the various contraceptive measures available in New York City schools.   There is a simple "opt out" form that if returned by the parent or guardian of children under 18 would prevent the school nurse from distributing contraceptive measures to a particular child. 

This group, Things Liberals Hate, doesn't seem to be New-York-City-centric, so why focus attention on the Mayor?  

I  surmise that the group would like to discredit Michael Bloomberg because he founded the nation-wide coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns and his Super PAC openly opposes legislators who support the NRA's anti gun control measures.

After several hours spent reading and reflecting, I have determined that the reason I hate this meme is not that I am a Liberal. (Another label avoided, thank goodness.)

I hate it because it is provocative, misleading, manipulative and inaccurate. Like all such pieces of propaganda, it insults the intelligence of its audience by assuming that those targeted will be too lazy to check things out for themselves.

Disagreeing with Bloomberg's public health policies is one thing;  agreeing to have the wool pulled over our eyes is something else.

Liberal Bias?

This blog was conceived with the intent of fostering a spirit of inquiry and independent thought, encouraging the habit of not accepting information without considering its veracity.

It is not my intent to forward any political agenda. I envisioned discussing both liberal and conservative memes and expected that I would find outrageous distortions of facts by both sides.

What I have so far found is that while the anti-conservative groups tend to create Internet memes that are every bit as critical (and in some cases down right nasty) as the anti-liberals, they more often use words of their own to express these opinions.

Even the most rabid groups tend to package their vitriol in modern lingo and pop culture images, rather than quoting from the past to make their point today. Plenty of outrageous freedom of expression, but not much blatant distortion of other people's words.

I will keep looking each day, and I hope others will feel free to call my attention to any liberal memes that need debunking,  but in the meantime, I'm going to keep working on those I do find, whatever their agenda.