Bannerman is a sucker for a quiz, meme, inquiry or other brand of comparo advertised on the ‘net meant to define the contestant as being one or the other type of bigot. This one, promoted by Antony Loewenstein, makes especially amusing participation. More so, if you’re a non-American.
Bannerman jumped at this opportunity to discover just whether he is a liberal anti-semite. Liberal having an entirely different meaning to that employed here in Oz, because this quiz is Yankee-fied. For those who aren’t aware, for Liberal, substitute the tag, ‘Democrat’ and think American politics.
Bannerman turns out to be in the 8–12 category of contestant. It seems he’s an unbigotted liberal – whatever that means – and apparently is annoying capable of finding a middle ground in this contest. Ken Parish would be pleased, if not entirely chuffed. Let’s take a gander at the questions though.
1. Who deserves the most blame for the Iraq war?
a) George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld
b) Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, and Bill Kristol
c) Blame? Don’t you support the troops?
What? No option to select the entire signature list of the Project for the New American Century as at 1998?
2. Which group exerts too much influence on America’s Mideast policy?
a) Conservative jingoes
b) Not the Jews per se but a “pro-Israel lobby” composed mainly of wealthy New York financiers (who may well all attend the same shul)
c) Arabists at the State Department
Einee Meanie Minee Mo……
3. How would you characterize debate about America’s Mideast policy?
a) Robust, with a full range of opinions available in various publications
b) Nonexistent, since all criticism of Israel is “taboo”
c) Biased, because the Sulzberger family of the New York Times is afraid to seem “too Jewish”
Bannerman loves (c). It’s a hoot!
4. Which state’s offences against humanity bother you most?
a) Sudan
b) Israel
c) Massachusetts
Let’s see……..potential haven for guerrillas and a government beset with a bias against non-muslims; the Jewish state; or an American state which permits the marriage of homosexuals. Gee….that’s such a hard one.
5. Criticism of Israel is:
a) Sometimes warranted, but needs to be kept in context and perspective.
b) The civic duty of every truly patriotic citizen who cares about America’s self-interest.
c) Why are you always criticising Israel?
Where’s that Dave dill of IsraellyCool infamy?
6. What do you think of Joe Lieberman?
a) I liked him OK when he ran with Gore, but he lost me on Iraq, school vouchers, and Social Security.
b) The most dangerous man in the Senate
c) At least there’s one Democrat who isn’t soft on terrorism!
Apart from (c) being decidedly revealing, just who is Joe What’shisface anyway?
7. On what basis is Iran a threat to world peace?
a) I’m concerned that its unchecked nuclear-arms program will destabilise the region.
b) I’m afraid Israel will use its saber-rattling as a pretext to start World War III.
c) I pray Ehud Olmert will have the chutzpah to pull another Osirak.
Notice, reader, there’s no null option? There’s a message in there.
8. Jimmy Carter’s use of the term “apartheid” in his new book is:
a) intended to provoke debate but clearly ill-considered
b) a gutsy, rare example of someone “speaking truth to power”
c) more of the same from the putz who put Andy Young at the UN
This quiz wouldn’t have been formulated by a Republican thinktank…..would it?
9. Which describes your view of the Holocaust?
a) The most horrific crime in recorded history
b) A tragedy that, incidentally, gets far more hype than the Turks’ slaughter of the Armenians or the white man’s annihilation of the Indians
c) Child’s play compared with what Iran’s Ahmadinejad has planned
At last!!! A real, worthwhile question! But wait a mo…..what’s this (c) option?
10. The term neoconservative suggests:
a) Erstwhile leftie radicals who grew disenchanted with the welfare state.
b) A cabal of pro-Israel intellectuals who have hijacked our foreign policy.
c) A code word for “Jews” used by the people who answered (b).
Seriously, Bannerman doesn’t have the foggiest about the rationale behind this one. Maybe it’s weighted towards those who missed their barmitzvah?
There you have it, reader. yet more nonsense and irrationality from the home of the repressed and land of the dying in Iraq.