Liberals and conservatives are often disgusted with one another. No surprise there. But conservatives are literally the more easily disgusted of the two when it comes to such squeamish things as maggots, questionable toilet seats, and the prospect of eating monkey meat. Such sensitivity, it seems, plays a role in their ideology and moral values. — Jennifer Harper, Washington Times
Jennifer Harper writes some of the most interesting, quirky stories in the Washington Times, this one based on studies showing that conservatives are more squeamish than liberals. Particularly amusing in this article — marred, unfortunately, by numerous typos — are the experts’ ponderous interpretations of the data. This one, for instance: “Disgust really is about protecting yourself from disease; it didn’t really evolve for the purpose of human morality, Mr. Pizarro said.” Is Pizarro suggesting that human morality has nothing to do with protecting us from disease? How stupid is that?
Here’s another choice bit from the same blockhead: “Conservatives have argued . . . that feeling disgusted about something [like] gay sex between consenting adults, for example, is cause enough to judge it wrong or immoral, even lacking a concrete reason, Mr. Pizarro said.” Lacking a concrete reason? Where’d that come from? How about examining, honestly, what the concrete reasons are and acknowledging them as the conscious or unconscious basis for this particular disgust?
The best part, of course, is that the experts aren’t sure what to make of the liberal/conservative disgust-polarity. The explanation should be perfectly obvious to anyone without an advanced degree: liberals are children, and conservatives are adults. Having never grown up, liberals still delight in all the filthy stuff that children love. Conservatives have put away childish things. It’s our job to make sure liberals don’t hurt themselves, and others.