What's a 'political ignoramouse'?

Subject: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 05:15 AM

This thought was prompted by this post in another thread.
In the Fan letter to Mudcat, 'Slag' said that he thought that 95% of we Mudcatters were "political ignoramouses"
I know it was tongue in cheek, but it did make me wonder how others would define this characteristic, from which so many of us suffer :)

What is a political ignoramouse?

Is it
[a] One who knows nothing about politics
[b] One who has different political views from you
[c] One who is opposed to your politics
[d] One who dislikes politics
[e] One who doesn't adhere to any political party

Not dissing Tom's post, just using it as a reference point.
It just struck me as an interesting remark, which to my mind, needs clarification.

So, your thoughts please.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 05:16 AM

Sorry should be below the line, my fault.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Will Fly
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 05:23 AM

[a]

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: C-flat
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 05:26 AM

Or one who ignores rodents because of their political beliefs?

Ignore-a-mouse?

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,BanjoRay
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 05:28 AM

A political ignoramouse (sic) is one who knows nothing about politics but still squeaks about it all the time.

Ray

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Hesk
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 05:43 AM

Someone who stands on a platform making a speech, hoping that the mouse will go away before they have finished!

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Mr Red
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 06:15 AM

one who can be bought cheaply

or a very cheesy character.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 06:44 AM

I had a really clever comment to add to this thread, but people have already said what I was going to say....

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 07:06 AM

In that other thread, slag/Tom actually wrote "ingoramouses", which are mice with very long-haired furs who don't know how to spell themselves.

But the new-born notion of a "political ignoramouse" does strike a chord: A person of otherwise normal intelligence who shies away from any political thought or action. Among the reasons may be:

- politics is amoral (either lie or fail)
- politics is beneath our dignity as artists
- politics is for a self-proclaimed elite, not rooted in the folks' very soul
- politics will make others attack me (rather than just critisize, which they'll do either way)

etc.

If you recognize yourself in this description, please keep yourself informed nevertheless, in case one day you find some issue to change your mind - as many have done before.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 08:06 AM

A person who is willfully ignorant and knows perfectly well that they are unwilling to learn or accept any new idea or fact into their paradigm of the world is an ignoramous.


The greatest artists are the ones who understand politics perfectly well.


For example
Mozart was as political as artists come.

Pablo Casals, regarding Catalonia, Diego Rivera, Leonard Bernstein regarding the holocaust, Toscanini, Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Phil Ochs, Bruce, Lennon...

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Les from Hull
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 08:22 AM

The plural of ignoramus is ignorami. I assume the plural of the made up word 'ignoramouse' is ignoramice. I think it's important to get these things right.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 12:50 PM

How seriously are we to take the expressed opinions of someone calling themselves slag?

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 12:53 PM

Donuel: Do you mean to dispute my definition of a political ignora-mouse (a subspecies of the political ignoramus, characterized by shyness)? Perhaps I should emphasize that I do not approve of the possible reasons I gave for that attitude. On the contrary, I'd like to encourage anyone to emerge from their self-incurred immaturity (Kant), just to make that clear.

An ignoramousse is a very tasty dessert low in carbohydrates - I don't know any, alas.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 12:57 PM

Anyone who doesn't know how the cheese ought to be divided.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,^&*
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 01:00 PM

The terror of Republicans?

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: John P
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 02:51 PM

The terror of Republicans?

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 03:19 PM

The terrier of Republicans?

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,^&*
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 03:27 PM

Think GOP not IRA!

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Donuel
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 03:39 PM

Where is Mousethief anyway.

Mousehunt is a sidesplitting film noir d'joie

Mousehung is an escapee from a testosterone experiment.

Mouse dropping is talking about famouse mice at parties.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 05:57 PM

What is a political ignoramus?....How about the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals??

I think they have been ignorant to the fact, that this used to be America!

...or something like that!

GfS

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: C-flat
Date: 27 Oct 10 - 06:09 PM

...not to be confused with an "ignoranus"; someone who doesn't know his arse from his elbow!

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 28 Oct 10 - 12:47 PM

Don't B-flat, B sharp, but B natural, C ????

Regards,

GfS

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 03:27 AM

Well to be honest I must be guilty of a and d. I don't have the experience of older people who have been through the different governments so yes I think I am a bit of a 'political ignoramouse' apart from experiencing Margaret Thatcher which caused 'd'.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 09:21 AM

Patsy, note that John MacKenzie's first statement was rather directed against those calling others ignorami than against the latter. Indeed, those who are absolutely convinced of their ideas and ignore any fact that does not fit in nicely, are just another subspecies of ignoramus politicus. We may call them ignora-rats.

The conclusion for the -mice is: read or watch the news from various sources and think about what exactly you like or dislike about the politics of, say, Thatcher. Discuss with your friends. After a couple of years doing so, you are no longer an ignoramus. There is no shortcut, so you should not wait until you feel the ache. Do it as a favour to yourself, although we all may profit if the percentage of the knowledgable increases.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 09:57 AM

It wasn't directed AGAINST anyone. Please do not impute motives in my post that weren't there.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,Grishka
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 11:24 AM

John, I wrote "rather ... than", and I was not referring to your motives, but to the objective character of your statement. You write you don't want to "diss" any particular person, neither do I. We are discussing attitudes here and leave it to anyone to recognize themselves. Ok?

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 11:59 AM

OK

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Bill D
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 01:42 PM

my definition: One with a shallow,uneducated, biased view who depends on sound bytes and rumors to define their positions ans voting habits.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 02:36 PM

It is a creature of Beatrix Potter, Kenneth Grahame, etc's. creation. Mr Toad (OK, not rodent) may fit.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 02:47 PM

"political ignoramouses"


Those who compose speeches and manifestos using only the keyboard of their PC.

SIMPLES!

Don T.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Slag
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 06:42 PM

Well, ya caught me so I'll have to identify and define my term.

A political ignoramouse (plural ignoramice?) is a mouse that doesn't give a rat's patootie for politics of any kind. I'm thinking of joining the party! You must, however, have very long and continously growing incisors. I may not qualify.

If my muses have turned their backs on me, are they ignoramuses?

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Slag
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 07:09 PM

S'matter with youse gys? I messed up "vacuum" too! Too many "c"s you will note. Thank goodness I wasn't trying to type "potatoes"!

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 29 Oct 10 - 07:58 PM

Obviously a misspelling, with the intention being an "ignore-a-mouse."

This is the opponent who keeps talking about the problem of an "elephant in the room" and refuses to debate with you about the "mouse" on which you've elected to base your campaign.

Only a candidate for office should use the term.

Prior to seeing it here, I thought it to be a local term, since my area has always seemed to lead in having candidates who campaign loudly about trivia that doesn't really matter, while ignoring the DISASTERS WITH WHICH WE ARE FACED DUE TO REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT ARE HIDDEN FROM THE VOTERS (except from the few like me who are fully informed and know what is really important).

Since there are no candidates in my area's current voting who have discussed anything that actually matters (i.e. nobody's seen the elephant(s)), a more appropriate term the present crop of whiners should use would be to describe their opponents as "ignore-MY-mouse" candidates, while the opponents all pontificate about who's mouse is most important.

In the rare case when a local candidate might (accidentally?) promise to "fix" a problem that might be of concern to the community, it is always a problem totally unrelated to the jurisdiction and scope of authority of the office for which that candidate is campaigning, so it obviously shouldn't matter to his/her campaign. The frequency with which this approach appears can lead to deeply intricate debates about whether the elephant is or isn't really just another mouse (in the context of your campaign) if it's not your elephant to deal with.

John

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: michaelr
Date: 30 Oct 10 - 12:40 AM

Sorry, C-flat, the definition of ignoranus is "someone who is both uninformed and an asshole".

Stu Pedasso

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: LadyJean
Date: 30 Oct 10 - 12:46 AM

A political ignoramouse would be a Republican rodent.

Subject: RE: What's a 'political ignoramouse'?
From: Slag
Date: 30 Oct 10 - 08:42 PM

A Republican Rodentia being pursued by a Demo-cat?