never attributing to malice what can be adequately explained by ignorance.

Yeah, I always thought that dictum was at the least overstated and probably dead wrong. If someone kicks me in the balls I'm gonna attribute that to malice.

I believe in malicious ignorance.

If someone kicks me in the balls I'm gonna attribute that to malice.

The circumstances in which that could be adequately explained by ignorance are going to be rare, Typo. Which is the point.

I believe in malicious ignorance.

I believe in ignorant maliciosity.

Unrelatedly, I think I'm going to have a very hard time when candidates for higher office (Senate, President, Governor) start being younger than me. Both in a "OMG why are they a Senator and I'm not?" and in a "Dude. I AM BARELY AN ADULT, how do you think you can RUN THIS COUNTRY?!" way.

If it helps, my friend (and fellow Hoya) the Congressman thinks he is the least successful of his college roommates.

I think a single mom (or dad) working two jobs and going home to three kids might disagree with you.

They might disagree with me. They might be wrong, too. Do they work with any non-white or non-Christian or non-heterotypical people on those jobs? Do they see any when they go shopping or take their kids to daycare? Being busy and tired is not a reason to not notice or care that the other people in your world are in fact people.

Both in a "OMG why are they a Senator and I'm not?" and in a "Dude. I AM BARELY AN ADULT, how do you think you can RUN THIS COUNTRY?!" way.

Paul Goddamn Ryan graduated from my university ONE YEAR ahead of me. Granted, that isn't *younger,* but it's close enough to be weird as hell.

And one of our more reprehensible candidates for Senate is 35 years old (and looks like he's 17). Even if he wasn't the shiftiest, sketchiest person to ever hold the job of state treasurer (though he IS), he's too young, man! That's weird!

My Christian grade school taught me homosexuality was evil. It took my best friend coming out to me in college to change that.

Even for those of us who weren't actively taught that way, gay was definitely made *other* because no one ever talked about it.

I grew up with two men living together on our block. Their house was lovely, and they were, too, according to people who met them, but even my parents (who are of the Presbyterian God-loves-everyone! persuasion) never told me outright that they were a loving couple in a relationship. This was also the era when Jody was coming out on Soap and I remember seeing a commercial and asking my babysitter what the big deal with *gay* was since all I knew was it meant happy.

Do they work with any non-white or non-Christian or non-heterotypical people on those jobs? Do they see any when they go shopping or take their kids to daycare?

Are you kidding? In most blue-collar jobs or neighborhoods or day cares?

They probably do see all kinds of people in their daily lives. What they might not be educated about is how laws affect them. I'm not saying it's right, but I am saying that not everyone realizes there are issues greater than who's going to lower taxes to BE educated about.

If it helps, my friend (and fellow Hoya) the Congressman thinks he is the least successful of his college roommates.

Hah! Now I'm thinking....none of my old roommates have become congresscritters yet. That I know of--I'm not in touch with my freshman roommate. Of the rest...one has a master's in counseling, two have law degrees (one from Harvard), one has two masters' in linguistics, but didn't end up getting her PhD, one dropped out of college and has three kids, and one I'm not sure what she's doing for work, but has a kid and a professor husband. Hmm. I think I'm doing middle of the pack on that one.